

























1442 


Issued May 23, 1912. 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS—BULLETIN 236 (Revised). 

A. C. TRUE, Director. 


THE USE OF UNDERGROUND WATER FOR 
IRRIGATION AT POMONA, CAL. 


BY 


C. E. TAIT, 

Irrigation Engineer in Charge of Work in Southern California. 


•UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 

SAMUEL FORTIER, 

Chief of Irrigation Investigations. 

[Based on work done in cooperation between the Office of Experiment Stations 

and the State of California. ] 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1912. 











/ 


1442 Issued May 23, 1912 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS—BULLETIN 236 (Revised). 

A. C. TRUE, Director. 



BY 


C. E. TAIT, 

\' 

Irrigation Engineer in Charge of Work in Southern California. 


UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 

SAMUEL FORTIER, 

Chief of Irrigation Investigations. 

[Based on work done in cooperation between the Office of Experiment Stations 

and the State of California. ] 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 
1912. 










OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 


A. C. True, Director. 

E. W. Allen, Assistant Director. 

IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 


Al rsJ 


Samuel Fortier, Chief. 

R, P. Teele, Assistant Chief . 1 


IRRIGATION ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION MANAGERS. 

" > 

A. P. Stover, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in southwestern Oregon. 

C. E. Tait, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in southern California. 

S. O. Jayne, Irrigation Manager, in charge of work in Washington. 

Frank Adams, Irrigation Manager, in charge of work in California. 

W. W. McLaughlin, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in Utah. 

P. E. Fuller, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in Arizona and of 
power investigations. 

W. L. Rockwell, Irrigation Manager, in charge of work in Texas. 

D. H. Bark, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in Idaho. 

Milo B. Williams, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in humid sections. 
C. G. Haskell, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of investigations of use of 
water for rice irrigation in the Gulf States. 

Fred G. Harden, Scientific Assistant. 

R. D. Robertson, Irrigation Engineer, assistant to irrigation manager in 

California. • - . 

J. W. Longstreth, in charge of work in Kansas. 

Fred C. Scobey, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in Wyoming. 

S. T. Harding, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in Montana and North 
Dakota. 

H. W. Grunsky, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in Oregon. 

F. W. Stanley, Irrigation Engineer, assistant in humid sections. 

F. L. Peterson, Irrigation Engineer, in charge of work in Nevada. 


COLLABORATORS. 


Gordon H. True, University of Nevada. 

W. B. Gregory, Tulane University of Louisiana, in charge of investigations 
of pumping plants and canal systems for rice irrigation in the Gulf States. 

V. M. Cone, Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, in charge of work 
in Colorado. 

F. L. Bixby, New Mexico Agricultural College, in charge of work in New 
Mexico. 

S. H. Beckett, University of California, in charge of cooperation at Davis, 
Cal. 

IRRIGATION FARMERS. 

John H. Gordon, R. G. Hemphtll, W. H. Lauck, R. E. Mahoney, and John 
Krall, Jr. 

1 On furlough, in charge of irrigation census of Bureau of Census. 

[Bull. 236] 

% 

ms 14 wi? 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 


United States Department of Agriculture, 

Office of Experiment Stations, 
Washington , D. ( 7 ., March 1 , 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith a revision of a report 
on the use of underground waters for irrigation at Pomona, Cal., 
prepared by C. E. Tait, under the direction of Samuel Fortier, chief 
of irrigation investigations of this Office. The work upon which this 
report is based was done in cooperation between this Office and the 
State of California, each paying half the expense. 

The Pomona Valley is typical of localities in the citrus belt of 
southern California, where water has a high agricultural value, but 
can be secured only at high cost. Much of the water is pumped, and 
there is no other section where water is used more economically or 
where greater effort is made to improve methods of development, 
distribution, and application. This report describes the problems 
confronting the irrigators, the methods employed, and the progress 
made in the economical use of the water resources. It is believed 
that it will be of value both as suggesting further possible progress 
in southern California and in leading to the use of more economical 
methods in other regions where the supply of water is limited or 
difficult to obtain. 

In view of important recent changes in the methods of develop¬ 
ing and applying the water and in the value of the lands and crops 
it has been deemed advisable to revise the report, which is recom¬ 
mended for publication as Bulletin 236 (revised) of this Office. 

Respectfully, 

A. C. True, 

Director . 

Hon. James Wilson, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 


[Bull. 23G.] 


(3) 




CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Introduction. 7 

General description of Pomona Valley. 8 

Soil. 9 

Climate.;. 10 

Crops. 14 

Water supply. 17 

San Antonio Creek. 18 

Underground water. 20 

Cienagas. 20 

Artesian wells and tunnels. 24 

Necessity for pumping. 25 

Effect of rainfall on the underground water. 27 

Rights to the use of water supplies. 28 

“ Canyon water ”. 28 

Underground water. 30 

Organizations for pumping and delivering water. 32 

Irrigation Company of Pomona. 35 

Del Monte Irrigation Company. 37 

San Dimas Irrigation Company. 39 

Canyon Water Company. 40 

Other irrigation companies. 41 

Companies furnishing water for domestic uses. 43 

Pumping installations. 43 

Wells. 44 

Types of pumping machinery. 45 

Centrifugal pumps. 46 

Deep-well pumps. 48 

Compressed-air pumps. 48 

Adaptability of the several types of pumps. 49 

Power used for pumping. 50 

Methods of distributing water. 55 

Concrete pipe. 56 

Rotation. 60 

Reservoirs. 62 

Measurement of water. 64 

Methods of applying water. 65 

Irrigation of orchards. 65 

Preparation of land. 65 

Basin, or check, method. 67 

Furrow method. 69 

Appliances for controlling water. 69 

Arrangement of furrows. 71 

Prevention of losses of water applied. 73 

Location and depth of furrow. 74 

Cultivation of the orchard. 75 

Cover crops. 77 

[Bull. 236.) 


( 5 ) 

















































6 


Methods of applying water—Continued. Page. 

Irrigation of different kinds of trees. 78 

Citrus fruits. 78 

Deciduous fruits. 79 

English walnuts. 80 

Irrigation of alfalfa. 81 

Use of concrete pipe and stands for conveying water. 82 

Application of water to fields. 83 

Irrigation of other crops. 85 

Duty of water in Pomona Valley. 86 

Duty for citrus fruits. 86 

Duty for deciduous fruit and diversified crops. 85 

Duty for alfalfa. 89 

Cost of irrigating and raising different crops. 90 

Citrus fruits. 90 

Alfalfa. 94 

Future use of water. 95 

Necessity for economy in its use. 95 

Storage and prevention of loss. 97 

Future possibilities. 99 


IL LUSTRATIONS. 


PLATES. 

Page. 

Plate I. Map of Pomona Valley and San Dimas. 8 

II. Fig. 1. Gravels at mouth of San Antonio Canyon.—Fig. 2. Electrical 

pumping plant. 20 

III. Fig. 1. Laying concrete pipe.—Fig. 2. Joining stands to pipe. 58 

IV. Fig. 1. Pumping plant and reservoir.—Fig. 2. Orchard irrigation with 

concrete stands. 64 

V. Fig. 1. Destroying furrows by cultivation.—Fig. 2. Irrigating alfalfa 

with surface pipe. 76 

TEXT FIGURES. 

Fig. 1. Mean monthly rainfall at Pomona, 1883-84 to 1908-9, inclusive. 12 

2. Rainfall at Pomona for seasons 1883-84 to 1908-9, inclusive. 13 

3. Design of concrete pipe and stand system for orchard irrigation. 58 

4. Cast-iron gates for concrete pipe lines and reservoirs. 59 

5. Design of concrete reservoir. 63 

6. Plan for laying out zigzag furrows. 73 

7. Design of concrete stand for alfalfa irrigation. 82 

8. Surface pipe for irrigating alfalfa.:. 83 

[Bull. 236] 




































THE USE OF UNDERGROUND WATER FOR 
IRRIGATION AT POMONA, CAL 


4 


INTRODUCTION. 

Much of the water used for irrigation in southern California is 
pumped from wells, and there are no sections where water is used 
more economically. This fact has been brought about by a strong 
combination of influences. One of these is the characteristics of the 
settlers themselves, who are mostly people of means and education, 
having come from Eastern States to enjoy the climate and other 
attractions for which the section is noted. Professional men, busi¬ 
ness men, and farmers alike have come to lead a retired life and 
to engage in fruit growing, which appealed to them as a method by 
which they can augment their means and at the same time live a 
more independent and outdoor life devoid of the hard labor of their 
former occupations. 

The kind of communities that have been built up is another im¬ 
portant factor. These represent one of the highest types of agri¬ 
cultural settlements and the rural homes found in them are unsur¬ 
passed in this country. The land holdings are small, the predomi¬ 
nating sizes being 10-acre orchards and 40 to 80 acre alfalfa farms, 
and are bunched together into settlements. This leads to a lively 
exchange of ideas and to a strong rivalry between localities. The 
corporate limits of the towns are so extensive that often they include 
most of the orchards around the business centers, from which avenues 
lead out into the country for miles. There is in a single county 25 
incorporated cities, and $3,500,000 is being spent on highway im¬ 
provements outside of the limits of the cities. The fruit growers 
have been ready to band together in movements for whatever might 
be beneficial to them. The organization for marketing fruit is the 
most proficient of its kind in existence, and has placed the citrus 
industry on a sound commercial basis. Active farmers’ clubs have 
been effective in leading to progress in all industrial methods. 

But the most potent factor has been the fact that the water supply 
was limited and expensive, while there were exceptional possibilities 
of achievement, both agriculturally and in the creation of high prop¬ 
erty values and beautiful estates. Few agricultural pursuits yield 
as large profits as the growing of citrus fruits and the other products 

[Bull. 236] 



8 


which have been the source of much of the wealth of southern Cali¬ 
fornia. The localities where soil and climate permit these industries 
are rare, and the temptation to extend them to the utmost possible 
limit is great. It is only natural that measures should be taken for 
protection of rights, conservation of resources, and economy in use of 
that which is both expensive and the base not only of the prosperity, 
but of the very existence of the communities. It is natural, with a 
strong incentive for economy, a high average intelligence, fairly ade¬ 
quate finances, and unusual possibilities, that there should be a strong 
tendency to study the problems of irrigation and that it should be 
easy to subscribe capital for improvements intended to bring about 
greater economy. 

Pomona is a type of the localities of the citrus belt and of sections 
where water is secured at a cost above the average. It is a locality 
that has rested on agricultural and horticultural advantages, and 
although it has not drawn so many people of wealth as have some 
communities more widely known as tourist points, yet its wealth per 
capita is high. It is probable, also, that organization at Pomona is not 
so complete as that in some of the older localities, but this is accounted 
for largely b} 7 the fact that there is no single source of water, and 
consequently a large mutually owned irrigation system is not possible. 
Growth here has been more natural than in many places where lands 
under canal systems have been colonized by special efforts of pro¬ 
moters. Nearly all the water used about Pomona is pumped from 
wells, and within a radius of 6 miles from the center of the citv 
there are 2G0 pumping plants and some artesian wells, represent¬ 
ing an investment of approximately $1,000,000, together with fully 
$500,000 additional for distributing pipe and small reservoirs. 

A study of the situation that has confronted the irrigators and the 
progress they have made in the economical use of the water resources 
may suggest even further advance, and it should have value in lead¬ 
ing to the use of better and more economical methods in other locali¬ 
ties where natural forces prompting improvement are less strong. 
The extent of agriculture in the West will be limited b} T the water 
available instead of the land irrigable, and the time is approaching 
when further extension will depend entirely upon the saving of water, 
and it is therefore impossible to predict what methods the future will 
bring forth in any locality. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OE POMONA VALLEY. 

The settlements or communities of southern California are often 
referred to as districts, but as the use of this term might lead to con¬ 
fusing the region under consideration with the systems under the 
State irrigation district law, in this report it has been called, for 
want of a better term, Pomona Valley. It does not include all of 

[Bull. 236] 



U.S. Dept, of Agriculture, Bui. 236, Office Expt. Stations. Irrigation Investigations 


PLATE I, 


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1910 

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9 


the valley of San Antonio Creek, a large part of which is overlapped 
by the Ontario settlement. Pomona Valley, as shown on Plate I, 
lies between the San Gabriel Mountains on the north and the Puente 
and Chino Hills on the south. The San Jose Hills project into the 
valley from the west, and are not connected either with the moun¬ 
tains on the north or the hills on the south, a long, narrow valley 
opening out toward the west being left on either side of them. The 
open country of the San Bernardino Basin stretches eastward unob¬ 
structed until it reaches the San Bernardino Range, 35 miles distant. 

The greater part of the region is situated in the eastern parf of Los 
Angeles County. A portion is in San Bernardino County, the county 
line almost coinciding with the main channel of San Antonio Wash. 

The city of Pomona is located at the eastern end of the San Jose 
Hills in the center of the valley, and has an area of 12 square miles 
and a population of 10,207. It is difficult to draw a distinct line 
between the city and the surrounding country, although its com¬ 
mercial business is confined to a comparatively small area. The 
two merge and the whole is a rural community with good homes, 
well-improved avenues, electric street railways, excellent schools and 
libraries, and high moral influences. Claremont, the home of Po¬ 
mona College, joins Pomona on the northeast. Lordsburg, which was 
colonized by a religious sect, joins Pomona on the northwest. San 
Dimas, at the extreme northwest of the region, is an important point 
for packing and shipping fruit. Chino, to the southeast of Pomona, 
in San Bernardino County, has a beet-sugar factory. North Pomona, 
a station on the Santa Fe Railroad, is a part of Pomona. The vil¬ 
lage of Spadra is located in the dale of San Jose Creek west of 
Pomona, and La Verne is an old settlement on the mesa northwest of 
Lordsburg. 

The valley is traversed from east to west by three trunk railways. 
The Southern Pacific crosses through the center and leads to Los 
Angeles by way of San Jose Creek. A branch leaves the main line 
at Ontario, detours southward through Chino, and after returning to 
and crossing the main line at Pomona runs north of the San Jose 
Hills, finally returning to the main line before reaching Los Angeles. 
The Santa Fe crosses the northern part of the valley and passes 
through Claremont, Lordsburg, and San Dimas. The San Pedro, 
Los Angeles & Salt Lake parallels the main line of the Southern 
Pacific through the valley. An electric railway from Los Angeles 
to Pomona is nearly completed. 

SOIL. 

The soil of the valley in general ranges from a gravelly loam near 
the foothills on the north to a sandy loam at the hills on the south. 
Here and there are found stretches of clay or adobe, principally where 

[Bull. 236] 


10 


the slope of the valley meets the San Jose, Puente, and Chino Hills. 
This latter class of soils is very tight and difficult to irrigate properly. 
The various grades of sandy loam which predominate through the 
central portion of the valley lend themselves best to irrigation. The 
gravelly soil near the mountains takes water very readily. The slope 
is from north to south at a rapidly decreasing rate of fall, the land 
near Claremont having a fall of about 100 feet to the mile, while in 
the southern part of the valley the fall is only one-half as great 
The soil is very fertile. 

CLIMATE. 

• 

It is difficult to classify southern California, exclusive of the inland 
deserts, in regard to its aridity. Its rainfall is that of a semiarid 
region, but its semitropicai climate and comparatively dry atmos¬ 
phere make it in some respects strictly arid, according to the gen¬ 
erally accepted meaning of these terms. The days of the summer 
and early fall are hot and dry except for an occasional fog, but there 
is a great daily range of temperature and the nights usually are cool. 
The winters are very mild, the late winter and early spring being the 
rainy season. Few of the fruit-growing sections are entirely free 
from frost, but the frosts seldom are heavy enough to do any damage. 
They are too heavy, however, in the lower portions of most of the 
valleys for citrus fruits, the culture of which is limited to the better 
protected and more nearly frostless areas near the hills or mountains. 
The following table, compiled from the annual summaries of the 
United States Weather Bureau, shows the monthly maximum and 
minimum temperatures at Claremont from 1899 to 1909: 


Maximum and minimum temperature at the United States Weather Buieau 

Station, Claremont, Cal., 1899-1909. 

MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE. 


Years. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 


°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

1S99 . 

78 

si 

83 

91 

84 


97 

96 

99 

94 


7Q 

1900. 

75 

79 

86 

77 

89 

95 


105 

92 

92 

co 

76 

1901. 

72 

83 

81 

80 

80 

102 

95 

103 

87 

93 

80 

83 

1902.. 

83 

82 

78 

83 

81 

102 

106 

100 

95 

89 

86 


1903. 

83 

76 

83 

85 

86 

103 

107 

106 

101 

101 

90 

78 

1904. 

85 

81 

89 

96 

93 

100 

100 

101 

107 

96 

94 

87 

1905. 

81 

74 

84 

87 

94 

90 

103 

108 

104 

101 

84 

79 

1906. 

80 

80 

83 

90 

80 

105 

102 

105 

107 

107 

96 

85 

1907. 

75 

86 

85 

91 

92 

104 

110 

99 

100 

94 

88 

85 

190S. 

84 

86 

85 

90 

88 

98 

108 

104 

106 

97 

88 

78 

1909. 

80 

76 

78 

89 

104 

105 

98 

112 

104 

101 

96 

72 


MINIMUM TEMPERATURE. 


1899. 

30 

20 

31 

33 

1900. 

34 

32 

35 

31 

1901. 

22 

28 

31 

30 

1902. 

25 

30 

29 

34 

1903. 

30 

26 

28 

31 

1904. 

30 

33 

34 

35 

1905. 

37 

30 

36 

39 

1906. 

29 

31 

33 

33 

1907. 

26 

34 

33 

40 

1908. 

36 

30 

33 

37 

1909. 

33 

34 

33 

40 


34 


37 

43 

40 

45 

37 

39 

37 

40 

40 

42 

41 

46 

43 

45 

40 

45 

35 

41 

42 

45 


46 

48 

48 

45 
42 

46 

49 
57 
48 
51 

50 


36 

46 

36 

35 

30 

38 

41 

37 

37 

23 

47 

41 

40 

38 

24 

41 

44 

41 

31 

28 

50 

46 

42 

38 

34 

54 

45 

44 

41 

32 

49 

45 

42 

34 

27 

48 

49 

40 

30 

32 

50 

44 

47 

37 

35 

49 

45 

40 

33 

28 

49 

44 

41 

35 

28 


[Bull. 23G] 

































































11 


1 lie prevailing winds are slightly south of west and are mild sea 
breezes which have traveled 35 miles from the coast. They enter the 
valley by way of San Jose Creek and San Dimas Pass, where, being 
confined to a narrow space, they are intensified and temper the 
summer heat. As they pass eastward they gradually lose their force. 
The winds usually rise in the forenoon and increase in velocity until 
near nightfall, when they cease. Their drying effect is neutralized 
in a measure by fogs, many of which come as far inland as Pomona. 
The fogs occur more frequently during the rainy season, but oc¬ 
casionally in other seasons, and they usually come in the night and 
often last until noon the following day. Investigations by this Office 
show the evaporation near Pomona to be G5 inches per annum.® The 
valley is practically free from the strong cold and dusty winds known 
as “ northers,” which come down over the Sierra Madre Range and 
sweep across the greater part of the San Bernardino Basin in the 
winter season. Their full force has been felt only a few times, and 
although the edge of a “ norther ” sometimes reaches Pomona, the 
most noticeable effect is the floating down of the dust. 

The rainfall is watched with great interest, not only on account of 
its effect in replenishing the subterranean water, but also for its direct 
benefit to crops. The amount of rainfall is such that if it were 
properly distributed, only little supplemental irrigation would be 
necessarjq but unfortunately the distribution is very unequal. The 
rainfall has been measured at Pomona for the last twenty-six years 
by the Pomona Land and Water Company, and the average annual 
precipitation for that period is 19.79 inches. While some water is 
used through the winter, the irrigation season proper is from May 
to October, inclusive, during which period the mean rainfall is 1.94 
inches as against 17.85 inches for the other six months. The follow¬ 
ing table shows the mean monthly precipitation from 1883-84 to 
1908-9: 


Mean monthly precipitation at Pomona, Cal., 1883-84 to 1908-0, inclusive. 


Season of regular irrigation. 


Months. 

Rainfall. 

May. 

Inches. 

0.73 

June. 

.10 

July. 

.00 

August. 

.03 

September. 

.19 

October. 

.89 

Total. 

1.94 


Season of irregular irrigation. 


Months. 

Rainfall. 

November. 

Inches. 

1.58 

December. 

2.90 

January. 

4.15 

February. 

3.78 

March. 

4. 28 

April. 

1.16 


Total. 

17.85 


[Bull. 236] 


a U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 177. 
































12 


The mean for March, 4.28 inches, is the highest, while more than 
one-half the total annual precipitation occurs in January, February, 
and March. It has rained only three times in July in twenty-six 
years. The unequal distribution of the rainfall and the need of 
supplying water by irrigation during the summer months are clearly 
shown by figure 1. 

The rainfall varies greatly for different seasons. The meteoro¬ 
logical year in southern California for convenience begins with the 
month of July, although it is not as applicable as the calendar year 
for measuring the amount received by crops. 



Fig. 1. —Mean monthly rainfall at Pomona, 1883-84 to 1008-9, inclusive. 


The following table, compiled from the records of the Pomona 
Land and Water Company, shows the total annual rainfall at 
Pomona from 1883-84 to 1908-9, inclusive : 


Rainfall at Pomona, Cal., 1883-8J t to 1908-9. 


Season. 

Rainfall. 

Season. 

Rainfall. 

1883-84. 

Inches. 

39.77 
10.57 
23.49 
13.33 
21.84 
23.35 
28. 75 
21.86 
14.66 
29.08 
12. 70 
26.68 
10.15 
22. 97 

1897-98. 

Inches. 
11.18 
7.77 
11.76 
21.91 

13.44 
19. 92 
10.31 

26.45 
23.33 
28.96 
16.53 
24.00 

1884-85. 

1898-99 

1885-86. 

1899-1900 

1886-87. 

1900-1901 . 

1887-88. 

1901-2_ 

1888-89. 

1902-3... 

1889-90. 

1903-4... 

1890-91. 

1904-5... 

1891-92. 

1905-6. 

1892-93. 

1906-7. 

1893-94. 

1907-8... 

1894-95. 

1908-9. 

1895-96. 

Average... 

1896-97. 

19.76 




[Bull. 236] 




















































































13 


It will be noticed from the foregoing table that a series of wet 
years was followed by a series of dry years, each period being some¬ 
thing less than a decade. A striking contrast is shown by the eight 
seasons from 1887-88 to 1894-95 and the nine seasons following. The 
average for the eight seasons is 22.30 inches, while that for the nine 
seasons is only 14.39 inches. The average for the seasons since is 
23.85 inches. 

There is a theory that there are cycles of variation from maxi¬ 
mum to minimum and back again about every fifteen or twenty years, 
but records have not been kept long enough to formulate an exact 



law for such variations. They serve to call attention to the great 
importance of keeping in mind the probable recurrence of dry years. 

Figure 2 shows not only the periodical change in the amount of 
rainfall, but also the alternation of comparatively high and low pre¬ 
cipitation from season to season. The rainfall records of southern 
California show that as the mountains are approached the precipi¬ 
tation increases. There seems to be an exception to this general 
rule, however, in Pomona Valley. The measurements at Claremont 
show an average of 17.13 inches for the past eighteen years, the aver¬ 
age at Pomona for the same period being 18.44 inches. The two 

[Bull. 236] 





































































































































14 


stations are only 3 miles apart. The following table shows the pre¬ 
cipitation at Claremont: 


Rainfall at Claremont, Cal., 1801-92 to 1908-0. 


Season. 

Rainfall. 

Season. 

Rainfall. 

1891-92. 

Inches. 

12.54 

1901-2. 

Inches. 

12.45 

1892-93.. 

26.03 

1902-3. 

18.81 

1893-94. 

11.37 

1903-4. 

10.89 

1894-95. 

24. 40 

1904-5. 

22.75 

1895-96.. 

9.58 

1905-6. 

21.65 

1896-97. 

23.14 

1906-7. 

26 29 

1897-98. 

11.05 

1907-8. 

15. 64 

1898-99. 

7.85 

1908-9. 

22.28 

1899-1900 

10. 65 
21.02 


1900-1901. 

Average. 

17.13 




The precipitation in the Pomona section, fortunately, is one of 
the greatest among the fruit districts of southern California. Its 
rainfall exceeds that of Los Angeles on the west, Santa Ana and San 
Diego on the south, Riverside, Redlands, and San Bernardino on 
the east, but it is exceeded by that of Pasadena. Why it should be 
greater than the fall at San Bernardino and Redlands, both situated 
nearer the mountains, is not clearly apparent ; possibly the San 
Jose Hills and other local conditions cause an increased precipitation 
of the moisture of the clouds, which invariably come inland from 
the ocean. The precipitation on the mountains north of the valley 
is known to be much greater than that in the valley. The higher 
peaks are covered with snow during a part of each winter and spring. 

CROPS. 

Pomona was once called the most representative fruit-growing sec¬ 
tion in the entire State of California on account of the great diversity 
of fruits. There is now perhaps less diversity of commercially 
grown fruits, but in addition to the fruit there is a large acreage 
of alfalfa. 

Nearly all of the region lies within the confines of two old Spanish 
grants, and most of the reclaimed area has been in private ownership 
from the first. The only public land was along the base of the foot¬ 
hills. The territory about the present municipalities of Pomona, 
Claremont, Lorclsburg, and San Dimas was a part of Rancho San 
Jose, while a large part of the region south of the railroads and east 
of San Antonio Wash was in Rancho Santa Ana del Chino. The 
country, before the railroad was built, was little more than a stock 
range. Pomona was settled in 1875, but very little improvement by 
cultivation was made until the field was entered by the Pomona Land 
and Water Company, organized in 1882, which acquired 12,000 acres 
of Rancho San Jose. Claims to canyon water were purchased and 

[Bull. 236] 

































15 


artesian wells were bcred. The success of orange culture had already 
been demonstrated at Riverside, and by 1884, 1,345 acres of orchard 
and 828 acres of vineyard had been planted at Pomona. The early 
attempts at irrigation at San Dimas were begun by the San Dimas 
Land and Water Company and the San Jose Ranch Company about 
1885 and 1887. 

By a coincidence the Southern Pacific and Salt Lake railroads 
practically divide the region into two main parts, the northern being 
almost entirely in citrus orchards, with a few grapes, while the south¬ 
ern one is in alfalfa, deciduous orchards, and diversified crops. Ov er 
80 per cent of the oranges and lemons are marketed through the San 
Antonio Fruit Exchange, which is a local branch of the California 
Fruit Growers’ Exchange, a cooperative organization of growers. 
The San Antonio exchange is the selling agent for nine minor or¬ 
ganizations, which pack the fruit. 

The last of these organizations, the El Camino Citrus Association, 
was not organized until 1911. The acreages in the eight organizations 
existing in 1910, as represented by the shipments in that year, were 


as follows: 

San Antonio Fruit Exchange: Acres. 

Pomona Fruit Growers’ Exchange_2, 300 

Claremont Citrus Association_1, 003 

College Heights Orange Association_ 5S0 

Indian Hill Citrus Association_1,050 

La Verne Orange Growers’ Association_ 550 

San Dimas Orange Growers’ Association_1, 071 

San Dimas Lemon Association_ 750 

Walnut Fruit Growers’ Association_ 175 

Independent shippers_1, 300 


Total_8,779 


Of the above, 365 acres of the San Dimas Lemon Association, at 
Covina and Azusa, and all of the lands in the Walnut Fruit Growers’ 
Association are outside of the territory covered by this report. 

Of the 2,300 acres under the Pomona Fruit Growers’ Exchange, 
200 are in lemons, so that in the whole territory there are 7,654 acres 
of oranges and 585 acres of lemons. In addition to the producing 
orchards there are about 2,500 acres of young trees, making a total 
of 10,739 acres in citrus orchards in the territory covered by this 
report. 

There are two leading varieties of oranges, Washington Navels and 
Late Valencias, but the former greatly predominate. Valencias are 
of better quality and can be held on the trees until fall with less diffi¬ 
culty in the cool summers near the coast than in interior sections. 
Pomona being about midway between the coast and the interior 
should be representative. Lemons are a little slower in maturing 

near the coast than in the interior, consequently there is more sum- 
[Bull. 236] 













16 


mer crop with its accompaniment of better prices on the coast. Excel¬ 
lent lemons are produced as far inland as Highlands^ where there is 
less trouble with scale pests than along the coast where fogs are more 
frequent. Three hundred and eighty-five acres of fine lemons are 
grown at San Dimas in this section. Lemons are grown also along 
San Jose Creek and near the foothills north of Claremont. Grape 
fruit and the pomelo are grown in small quantities, but the lime is 
too sensitive to stand the light frosts that occur. 

There are at present about 500 acres in vineyards, the acreage not 
being so large as formerly when there was better profit. Most of the 
grapes are within the city limits of Pomona. Wine grapes are raised 
principally, and there are several local wineries. 

Much of the land south of the railroads and west of San Antonio 
Wash in Pomona city limits in the early days was set to deciduous 
orchards, but in later years they have not given a good revenue with 
regularity and many of them have given place to alfalfa. The own¬ 
ership of Chino rancho changed in 1881 and development was begun. 
The ranch was divided into 10-acre tracts and offered for sale to 
settlers, and in 1900 the owner organized the Chino Land and Water 
Company and the property was transferred to the corporation which 
continues to promote settlement. A sugar factory was built in Chino 
in 1891 and G,500 acres on the ranch were planted to beets. The soil 
is well adapted to beet culture, except that without drainage it re¬ 
mains damp so late in the spring that there has been difficulty in 
getting the beets planted early enough. There were 2,500 acres of 
beets in 1908, the greater part of which was grown by the sugar com¬ 
pany. About 14,000 acres of the valley lands of Chino rancho have 
been sold and are being occupied by settlers. Alfalfa is the prin¬ 
cipal crop grown on these lands, but there are some deciduous orch¬ 
ards, walnuts, and a great diversity of crops along the northern 
border. There aTe about 9,000 acres of alfalfa in the lower part of 
the valley, of which 7,200 acres are on Chino rancho, the remainder, 
except a few acres near Spadra, being in southern Pomona. 

The removal of so many of the deciduous orchards in southern 
Pomona has been offset by the increase on Chino rancho, and the 
total acreage remains at about 1,000. The orchards on the ranch, 
however, are often only an adjunct to alfalfa growing, and no par¬ 
ticular part is devoted entirely to them as was the case formerly. De¬ 
ciduous fruit growing as an industry has declined, although in¬ 
creased planting of trees is expected with the settlement of the rancho 
lands. 

Peaches and apricots are grown principally, but the prune and 
pear have been grown at times with good profit. There are some 
apple orchards near Chino and some fig trees in the valley, but 

[Bull. 236] 


17 


no orchards. English walnuts thrive and in recent years have 
yielded as large profits as oranges and lemons. The walnut orchards 
are confined principally to the heavy soil, much of which was unpro¬ 
ductive until it became apparent that it was adapted to walnut grow¬ 
ing and that the industry was a profitable one. The best walnuts are 
grown in the cool climate near the coast. About 700 acres are devoted 
to walnuts, the greater part of which is on Chino rancho. Almond 
trees are found, but there are no orchards, as they stand but little 
frost. The olive is grown to some extent in this region and is found 
to be profitable when improved methods of marketing the fruit and 
oil are used. Olive and walnut trees have been much used to make 
borders or street rows for orange orchards in place of ornamental 
trees. The growing of eucalyptus trees in groves for profit is becom¬ 
ing a feature. Truck gardening and berry growing are followed 
principally to supply the local demand. 

The total number of acres irrigated in this region is in excess of 
20,000. In addition to the irrigated crops there are several thousand 
acres of grain on Chino rancho and on the lesser slopes of Chino, 
Puente, and San Jose Hills, grown with fair success, except in the 
very dry seasons, without irrigation. 

WATER SUPPLY. 

San Antonio Creek, which rises in the San Gabriel Mountains, a 
part of the Sierra Madra Range, is the only important stream in the 
region. After leaving its canyon it traverses the valley in a direc¬ 
tion west of south, but during the greater part of each year its chan¬ 
nel is a mere wash, all the water either having been taken out for irri¬ 
gation or having disappeared in the gravel beds near the canyon. 
When the channel approaches the base of the Chino Hills water 
appears on the surface again. The continuation of the same stream 
beyond this point is known as Chino Creek, which tofiows close to the 
base of Chino Hills in a southeasterly course to its junction with the 
Santa Ana, a river flowing into the Pacific Ocean. 

San Dimas Creek is a small stream having its source in San Gabriel 
Mountains. After reaching the valley the course of its wash turns 
westward, crossing the open country north of the San Jose Hills until 
it reaches San Gabriel River. While San Dimas Creek is a part of 
the San Gabriel drainage, which is entirely distinct from the Santa 
Ana drainage, of which San Antonio Creek is a part, the country in 
the vicinity of San Dimas is largely tributary to Pomona and, aside 
from water supply, may be considered a part of the community under 
consideration. 

San Jose Creek, or Wash, is another small stream beginning at 
the eastern end of San Jose Hills and draining to the west through 
the little valley south of the San Jose Hills. 

34575°—Bull. 236—12-2 



18 


SAN ANTONIO CREEK. 

The mountain watershed of San Antonio Creek is 27-J square 
miles, and ranges in elevation from 2,250 feet aboA^e sea level at the 
mouth of the canyon to 10,080 feet at the summit of Mount San Anto¬ 
nio. The floor of the canyon is divided by projecting hills and rock 
into basins several hundred feet wide and approximately a mile long, 
filled to an unknown depth Avith detritus. These basins act as reser¬ 
voirs for large volumes of water and regulate the stream to such a 
degree that the summer and fall run-off is much larger than would 
be expected, considering the light rainfall of these seasons. The fall 
of the stream in the 7 miles of main canyon from the junction with 
Icehouse Canyon, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, to the mouth varies 
in the several sections from 50 to 500 feet per mile, the most abrupt 
drop being at Hogback, a hill which narroAvs the canyon to a gorge. 
Timber and undergrowth are found in the canyons. The mountain 
slopes are not heavily timbered, but are covered Avitli a dense groAvth 
of scrub oak and other brush up to an elevation of 6,000 feet. There 
is A 7 ery little A T egetation on the peaks to shield the Avinter snows from 
the direct rays of the sun, and snoAvs do not remain long, except on 
San Antonio, Ontario, and Cucamonga Peaks. 

Just after hea\ T y rains San Antonio Creek is torrential, but its 
floods soon pass, and throughout the greater part of the year it is 
only a small mountain stream. Its channel above all diversions is 
never dry. The discharge from year to year is as variable as is the 
rainfall on which it depends. The minimum occurs in the fall and 
sometimes is only 200 miner’s inches. The maximum has never been 
measured, but is perhaps 100,000 miner’s inches, or 2,000 cubic feet 
per second some years. The average discharge for the summer 
months for tAventy-tAvo years, as shown by measurements made for 
the Avater companies by their engineers, is as folloAvs: July, 820 
miner’s inches; August, 736 miner’s inches; and September, 557 
miner’s inches. The average for the season of regular irrigation, 
May to October, is probably 800 miner’s inches. 

After leaving the canyon the creek passes down the more gentle 
slope of the alluvial deposit, but except in times of high floods it 
does not flow very far as surface Avater. This sloping alluvial plain 
constitutes the valley lands and is the vast accumulation of material 
formed by the disintegration of the soft granite of the mountains. 
This is one of the many debris fans stretching southward from the 
Sierra Madra Range. The numerous channels leading off from the 
main channel below the mouth of the canyon (see PI. I) indi¬ 
cate how the stream has turned from one side to the other in its 
effort to seek a lower course and to get away from the elevations of 
its own building. 

[Bull, 236] 


19 


The main channel is the one along which the county line runs. 
Just to the east there is a secondary channel, which follows the same 
general course down to Chino Valley. Farther east there is a third 
channel, w T hich is finally lost in the artesian area west of Chino. 
These are the only channels from the canyon. On the west side 
there are three well-defined channels branching off from the main 
channel below the canyon. The one in which the Del Monte Cienaga 
is located passes just east of Claremont; that in which the Martin 
Cienaga is located passes east of Indian Hill and west of Claremont; 
and the third bears well toward the west and ends in Palomares 
Cienaga. Thompson Creek, which is not a channel of San Antonio 
Wash but rises in the slopes southwest of the canyon, after skirting 
the base of the hills toward Lordsburg may be traced to Palomares 
Cienaga. 

From a point on the Chino Hills high enough to afford a view 
unobstructed by the pepper and eucalyptus trees, which line the 
avenues of the valley, the channels of the washes are seen diverging 
from the canyon 15 miles distant, the gray of the gravel and cobble 
contrasting with the dark-green masses of the orange groves and 
desert growth, and looking directly up the main wash the eye follows 
through the canyon to Mount St. Antonio, w T hich rises 9,200 feet 
above Pomona. The view also shows the similarity of the deposit to 
a cone when the topography is considered. The roads, running east 
and west across the valley at almost right angles to the wash, appear 
arched, and the channel is shown to be situated a little to the west of 
the top of the ridge. Apparently it is a great cone with its apex at 
the mouth of the canyon and a segment of its surface standing out 
in relief. The map (PI. I) shows each 100-foot contour line, as 
taken from the topographic sheets of the United States Geological 
Survey. These lines resemble segments of circles circumscribed by 
radii from the mouth of the canyon. The view also shows very 
clearly the difference in the rate of fall along the main wash or along 
any of the other radial lines of the cone. 

The slope becomes much steeper as the canyon is approached. 
From the canyon to San Bernardino base line, a distance of 2^ miles, 
the fall in the wash averages 240 feet per mile; from the base line to 
the Santa Fe crossing, 2 miles, 1T5 feet per mile; from the latter 
point to the Southern Pacific and Salt Lake Eailroad crossing, 2| 
miles, 107 feet per mile; and from that point to the Chino Hills, a 
distance of 3J miles, only 57 feet per mile. The creek drops from an 
elevation of 2,150 feet at the mouth of the canyon to 750 feet at the 
base of Chino Hills. 

There is not only a diminishing rate of fall from the canyon out¬ 
ward, but there is a gradation also in the composition of the allu¬ 
vium, varying from the coarsest at the canyon to the finest at the base 

[Bull. 236] 


20 


of the hills on the south, for the deposit spreads entirely across the 
basin. The heavy bowlders have been left banked up against the 
mountains, while the finer material has been carried a greater dis¬ 
tance from the canyon. The coarser material extends far down the 
slope in the washes, and the borings made in the valley show alter¬ 
nate strata of different classes of material at nearly all points. There 
is a gradual change from an abundance of bowlders near the canyon 
down through gravel, sand, and sandy loam to clay at the intervening 
hills, the latter having been formed by the finest silt-like material. 
Plate II, figure 1, shows the mouth of the canyon and the character 
of the gravels below. 

Before it was taken out for irrigation or power the normal flow of 
San Antonio Creek was absorbed by the coarse material near the 
canyon. The surface flow during the freshets often reaches as far 
down as the Southern Pacific and Salt Lake crossings before being 
absorbed completely, but it is only in the highest floods that water 
continues on the surface all the way to Chino Creek. The water 
which enters the coarse gravel at the canyon percolates downward 
and outward rapidly at first, but the rate of percolation must di¬ 
minish gradually as finer materials are reached. Its downward 
course must cease altogether when the impervious bottom of the basin 
is reached, or in places it may be confined by strata of clay and 
compelled to pass laterally through the more porous material between. 
Wherever any impervious barrier to this lateral movement is reached 
there is an accumulation of water behind it, and the water rises until 
it passes over and around the barrier. The San Jose, Puente, and 
Chino Hills constitute such barriers. Their impervious rocks inter¬ 
cept the water that percolates down, causing the ground water to rise 
until it either appears on the surface or passes westward toward the 
San Gabriel or southeastward toward the Santa Ana. There are 
evidences also of other barriers which are now wholly buried, but 
which at one time possibly were rock masses projecting above the 
surface or irregular deposits of clay through which percolation must 
be very slow. Such masses need not be entirely impervious to cause 
the water to rise behind them, for the same result will be produced 
if the material be dense enough to reduce the rate of percolation. 

UNDERGROUND WATER. 

CIENAGAS. 

The forcing of the ground water up to or near the surface gives 
rise to the well-known cienagas, and these have been the most favor¬ 
able places to secure water by tunneling and the boring of wells. The 
ground surface in the cienagas is nearly level, particularly in those 

[Bull. 236] 


U. S. Dept, of Agr., Bui. 236, Office Expt. Stations. Iirigation Investigations. 


Plate II 




Fig. 1 .—Gravels at Mouth of San Antonio Canyon. Fig. 2. Electrical Pumping Plant. 









21 


lying near the low hills. The lands originally were known as moist 
or damp lands, and some of the basin-like places were bogs in which 
water stood on the surface at times. The soil is clay or adobe, com¬ 
posed of the finest materials, and is not entirely impervious. The 
fertility of the soil and moisture produced plant life, the decay of 
which has blackened the adobe. Farther up the slopes the clay is 
lighter in color. 

The San Jose Hills have played an important part in the formation 
of cienagas. The Mud Spring Cienaga lies just southeast of San 
Dimas, where water from Live Oak and San Dimas Canyons is 
intercepted by spurs of the hills, giving rise to Walnut Wash. The 
Palomares Cienaga lies within Pomona just northeast of the visible 
end of San Jose Hills. Water which undoubtedly comes from San 
Antonio Canyon and Thompson Creek is intercepted here by the 
now buried portion of these hills, there being every evidence that 
the range extends farther to the east and northeast beneath the sur¬ 
face. The Alkire Tunnel passes entirely through this rock. The 
Martin Cienaga west and the Del Monte Cienaga south of Clare¬ 
mont belong to the class where there is an invisible barrier. It is 
probable that these also owe their existence to the San Jose Hills, 
the ridge of which is believed to extend in a northeasterly direction 
from Pomona, and it is possible that the water in each of these 
cienagas is forced up to its level by spurs on the north side of the 
ridge. Borings, as well as the difference in the water level, show 
that there is a distinct division between them, although they lie 
very close together. Wells bored here have yielded water on being 
pumped, but they have never flowed, while in the cienagas on either 
side wells have flowed through periods of wet years. There are still 
other localities less marked in that section of the country from 
Pomona to Claremont and beyond where the underground water 
apparently is forced up to a certain level before it can pass on. As 
the San Jose Hills are approached there is a series of water tables, 
each successive one lower than the preceding one. Each is a reservoir 
whose water level is determined by the height to which it must rise 
to overflow to the next below. This level is governed in a measure 
by the amount of water entering the gravel beds and the amount 
drawn out for irrigation. 

A very complete study of these underground water sources was 
made by Willis S. Jones, of Pomona, in 1907. Systematic measure¬ 
ments of the wells in this section enabled him to locate definitely 
the several reservoirs. He and F. H. Olmstead were appointed con¬ 
sulting engineers by the city council of Pomona to report on the 
value of the plant of the Consolidated Water Company, the purchase 

[Bull. 236] 


99 


of which the city had under consideration. The results of their investi¬ 
gation, which are of value to the entire community, are set forth in 
their joint report made in 1907. In discussing the section referred 
to they say: 

Geologically this region is separated from the rest of the cone of debris 
from San Antonio Canyon by a more or less impervious dike or dikes, which 
hold the water in underground reservoirs. While the water is comparatively 
level in each reservoir, they are separated from each other by wide differences 
of elevation. The steps down can be tabulated as follows: 

Hanson's well. —Commencing with the well on the Hanson place, less than a 
quarter of a mile north of the Consolidated Water Company’s tunnel, the water 
stands at an elevation of 1,375 feet above sea level. 

Consolidated Water Company's tunnel. —The tunnel and Ontario wells at 
Indian Hill have an elevation of 1,275 feet, an abrupt drop of 100 feet in less 
than a quarter of a mile. 

Del Monte wells. —The Del Monte wells east of College avenue, Claremont, 
have an elevation of 1,100 feet, a drop of 175 feet. This elevation holds ap¬ 
proximately as far north as Eighth street in Claremont to George Jencks’s 
well. Coming west to Santa Fe Station east of Alexander avenue, the eleva¬ 
tion in the two new Del Monte wells is 970 feet, another drop of 130 feet. 

Pomona Reservoir. —Thence southwest nearly 3 miles to Ganesha Park, this 
basin has a very gentle slope, the entire drop being only 50 feet. Of this, 30 
feet occurs in the first one-fourth mile. When the Irrigation Company of 
Pomona pumps its 16 wells it draws on this entire reservoir, lowering it to 
such an extent that a rest of thirty-six hours causes their wells to rise 6 feet. 
This rise extends to the northeast in a diminishing ratio to the wells along 
Mountain and Alexander avenues, where the rise is about 9 inches. 

The existence of these reservoirs is a demonstrated fact, as can be easily 
shown from our personal investigation, and on their existence depends to a 
large extent the value of the various pumping plants and tunnels in this 
region. 

In the foregoing, the five localities mentioned are in a line running 
northeast toward San Antonio Canyon from Ganesha Park, which is 
at the end of San Jose Hills. The Del Monte wells east of College 
avenue, Claremont, are in the Del Monte Cienaga, and the Pomona 
Reservoir referred to is at the Palomares Cienaga. The Martin 
Cienaga is not included, as it lies a little to the northwest of the gen¬ 
eral line running through the others. It is possible that additional 
light may be thrown on the conditions influencing the movements 
of the underground waters by a more systematic study of the strata 
as shown by the records of the many borings for wells. To the south¬ 
east of the barrier, supposed to be the extension of San Jose Hills, 
there is a great drop in water level. A glance at the map (PI. I) 
shows the large number of wells and pumping plants, principally in 
the cienagas northwest of this buried ridge, while to the southeast 
there is a large section of country crossed by San Antonio Wash in 
which the small number of pumping plants gives a correct idea of 
its comparative value for producing water. In several places where 

[Bull. 236] 


* 


23 


two wells are located only a few hundred feet apart but on opposite 
sides of the supposed division line, the one on the northwest is an 
excellent well while the one to the southeast is practically a failure. 

The moist lands along the base of Chino Hills, although they have 
no special names, are cienaga lands, entirely separated from those at 
Pomona and Claremont. The water which passes the end of the 
range of hills at Pomona percolates to the southeast to Chino Creek 
and westward along San Jose Creek. The water which follows the 
general direction of San Antonio Wash without being diverted west¬ 
ward from the canyon reappears w T hen it reaches Chino Hills, and 
these sources give rise to Chino Creek. Data are not available to 
show the location of all the water levels in this lower section, but it 
should not be considered as one vast cienaga, as there are three dis¬ 
tinct groups of artesian wells and as many or more water levels. One 
is w r est and slightly south of Chino at the old steam pumping plant 
of the Chino Land and Water Company and the other two are 
located southeast of this group. The lower one is the best group of 
flowung wells in this region. 

The country about San Dimas Canyon, including San Dimas, La 
Verne, and the heights at the mouth of Live Oak Canyon north of 
Lordsburg, is of different origin and character from the valley be¬ 
low San Antonio Canyon. Doctor Hilgard, in a bulletin of this 
Office,® points out that the occasional red mesas which contrast with 
the gray of the valleys are evidences of an older alluvium than that 
of the valley land along the southern slope of the Sierra Madras. 
Traces of this older deposit are found here and there at the foot¬ 
hills all the way from Redlands to Pasadena. Red Hill, north¬ 
east of Uplands, and Indian Hill, north of Claremont, are remnants 
of this class found in this particular region. W. C. Mendenhall, 
of the United States Geological Survey, calls attention to the 
existence of much of this older topography between the San Jose 
Hills and the mountains, and that San Dimas Wash is a canyon cut 
in the old alluvium and partially refilled with the modern stream 
debris. * 6 The reddish character of the lands from the bluffs at San 
Dimas Wash to those at Thompson Creek, as well as their elevation, 
distinguish them from other parts of the valley and identify them as 
a part of the older deposit. 

It is probable that the ground water in San Dimas Wash moves 
westward with the general course of the stream and that most of the 
water in the mesa lands comes from Live Oak Canyon. This section 
has not been investigated as thoroughly as has that along San 
Antonio Wash. 

G U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 119. 

6 U. S. Geol. Survey, Water-Supply and Irrig. Paper 219. 


[Bull. 236] 





24 


ARTESIAN WELLS AND TUNNELS. 

Pomona Valley was a vast Mexican sheep range prior to 1875. 
None of the towns existed except the village of Spadra, which was a 
Spanish settlement and station on the old San Bernardino and Los 
Angeles trail. Chino rancho had passed into the hands of an Ameri¬ 
can owner and was operated as a large stock ranch. Settlement 
began with the starting of Pomona in 1875, just after the building of 
the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the census of 1880 shows that the 
town had then a population of 417. Real development did not com¬ 
mence until 1882, when the Pomona Land and Water Company was 
organized. This company acquired 12,000 acres of the San Jose 
rancho and undertook systematic promotion by offering for sale 
lands with water rights. Pomona in 1890 had a population of 3,G34, 
and in 1900, 5,526. Claremont, Lordsburg, and San Dimas sprang 
up after the building of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1887; the Salt Lake 
Railroad was not built through until 1904. Chino had its origin in 
1887, and the beet-sugar industry was instituted in 1892. 

The first iron-cased well was drilled near the present plant of the 
Pomona Land and Water Company in the Palomares Cienaga in 
1877. Previous to this time there were a few shallow wooden-stave 
wells. The promoting company began sinking wells in the Palomares 
Cienaga in 1883. A few wells were put down in the Del Monte 
Cienaga in 1882 and 1883, but no more were drilled until 1887. The 
development of the Martin Cienaga was begun in 1884. In 1885 
there were 33 artesian wells in the three cienagas from which the 
company was able to furnish nearly 400 miner’s inches of water. An 
additional amount was available also from San Antonio Canyon 
through a pipe line that had been laid. There are now 17 wells in 
the Martin, 12 or more in the Del Monte, and 40 or 50 in the Palomares 
Cienaga. The Alkire Tunnel was constructed at the head of San Jose 
Creek, and drew water from the Palomares Cienaga. The Indian 
Hill Tunnel penetrated the side of the hill which is a mesa north of 
Claremont. The Fleming Tunnel, now the property of the Con¬ 
solidated Water Company, was located near an old channel of San 
Antonio Wash east of Indian Hill. Several tunnels were made to 
draw water from the gravels fed by San Antonio Creek for use in 
the Ontario district. The Mountain View Water Company’s tun¬ 
nel, 1J miles long, is in San Antonio Wash east of the Consolidated 
Tunnel. The Bodenhamer Tunnel, 1 mile long, was made several 
miles farther to the northeast. The San Antonio Water Company 
has a 3,000-foot tunnel in the mouth of the canyon, also a tunnel 
completed in 1909 just above the Bodenhamer Tunnel. 

[Bull. 236] 


. 


25 


Wells drilled in Mud Springs Cienaga at San Dimas about 1887 
flowed at the surface, but they were intersected 30 feet below by a 
tunnel, thereby increasing their discharge. The combined flow of the 
wells and tunnel was about 55 miner’s inches, throughout the irrigat¬ 
ing season. 

The early development on Chino rancho was near Chino Creek, 
where the first wells were drilled about 1886. These were excellent 
flowing wells. 

NECESSITY FOR PUMPING. 

Water was cheap and used very freely as long as it flowed from 
the ground, little thought being given to the sources from which it 
came and the need for its conservation. There was a good market 
for all fruits also when the fruit-producing area was small. These 
things led to a very rapid development, and the fast increasing acre¬ 
age made a heavy demand on the water supply. There also had been 
a heavy rainfall for the twelve years for which measurements had 
then been made, and it seemed that this period was long enough to 
clearly establish the average rainfall for the locality, but a period 
began in 1895 for which the average was much lower. It was realized 
that as the flow of the wells and tunnels diminished a more economical 
method would have to be practiced, but this could not check the low¬ 
ering of the water and pumping was inevitable. 

The first pumping was in 1895 at the Martin Cienaga, where the 
flow of the wells had become very weak. It was necessary in 1898 to 
pump the wells in the Palomares Cienaga, and the flow of Mud 
Springs Tunnel and wells at San Dimas became so weak that it was 
necessary to begin pumping there also. The Consolidated and Alkire 
tunnels never ceased to flow entirely, but during the dry years the 
discharge of the latter was reduced to 25 miner’s inches, and the flow 
of the former fell below 60 miner’s inches. The Indian Hill Tunnel, 
as might be expected, knowing the origin of the hill, yielded but little 
water. Of those supplying Ontario, the San Antonio Canyon Tun¬ 
nel has always delivered some water, but the Mountain View Tunnel 
ceased to flow and the Bodenhamer had not reached water-bearing 
gravels. By 1905 water was being lifted 90 feet in Del Monte and 
Martin Cienagas, 45 feet in the Palomares Cienaga, and 95 feet in the 
Mud Springs Cienaga. The 7-inch well at the pumping plant of the 
Kingsley tract flowed until 1898, and it is said to have delivered 40 
miner’s inches at one time. The water from it was lifted 95 feet in 
1905. The discharge of the Mud Springs Tunnel and wells at San 
Dimas became so weak that a pumping plant was installed in 1898. 
Wells drilled in San Dimas Wash, the gravels of which have been a 
very fruitful source of water, never flowed. The first well was drilled 

[Bull. 236] 


26 


by the Artesian Belt Water Company in 1895. A pumping plant was 
installed the next year, the lift being 44 feet, but the lift had increased 
to 100 feet in 1905. The success of the first well led to the installa¬ 
tion of numerous other pumping plants in the wash. Water was 
lifted over 200 feet at some of these wells in 1905. Wells at La Yerne 
and on the mesa north of Lordsburg were never artesian, the under¬ 
ground water coming probably from Live Oak Canyon. There has 
been a gradual reduction in the water level of this section, and as 
yet the onlv response to the increased rainfall is a decrease in the rate 
of fall. 

There were springs on the Phillips ranch near Spadra until about 
1900. Pumping from a well followed their failure, the water being 
lifted 67 feet when the tests were made in 1905. There has been a 
reduction of about 50 feet in the water level in the southern part of 
Pomona. Water stood 6 feet below the surface on the Thurman 
ranch in the nineties, and in 1896 it rose to the surface in places. 
The land was so wet as late as 1900 that it was used only for pasture, 
and a well bored that year discharged a good stream. After two 
seasons it ceased to flow, and in 1905 the water was lifted 55 feet. 
Many other wells were put down in this locality, nearly all of which 
yielded good streams of water when pumped. 

There has been less fluctuation on Chino rancho, where the greater 
distance from the source and the finer material through which the 
water must percolate cause a better regulation. The entire Chino 
region appears to be a vast reservoir, subject to slight annual varia¬ 
tions only. 

Good artesian wells are confined to a strip of country along Chino 
Creek between Chino and the hills and extend southwest from San 
Antonio Wash for several miles. On October 9, 1905, the combined 
discharge of the better wells near the old steam pumping plant in 
this area was 19 miner’s inches. Now 17 wells in the same locality 
are discharging over 125 miner’s inches. Located in a less extensive 
strip, stretching from Chino toward the southeast, are wells which 
flow lightly. Most of these cease flowing in the pumping season. 
There are fully 100 artesian wells on Chino rancho. The flow of 
many of these has diminished in recent years, and some wells that 
formerly flowed no longer discharge water at any season. Many of 
the wells on Chino rancho farther east and north, as well as in the 
two artesian areas, when pumped deliver large quantities of water. 
The lift at many of these pumping plants has increased slightly in 
the last five years. In general, the water in other parts of the valley 
has been lowered as much in the wells that never flowed as in those 
that have, the reduction being 50 to 100 feet, the lowest level having 
been reached in 1906. 


[Bull. 236] 


27 


EFFECT OF RAINFALL ON THE UNDERGROUND WATER. 

It is interesting to note the effect rainfall has had upon the under¬ 
ground waters. There was a time when some of the water users 
believed that the source of underground waters was other than rain¬ 
fall in the watershed of San Antonio Creek, but it is not probable 
than anyone would now advance that theory. The rainfall from 
1895-96 to 1903-4, inclusive, was 35 per cent less than for the pre¬ 
ceding 12 years. Three dry years came in succession from 1897 to 
1900, the total for the season 1898-99 being less than 8 inches. Fol¬ 
lowing this, many pumping plants were installed in the years 1899, 
1900, and 1901. 

The decline of the water level ending in 1906 occasioned some 
uneasiness and it was feared that too heavy a drain was being made 
upon the supply. It was reasoned correctly that the dry years would 
be followed by a series in which the rainfall would be as great as it 
was in the first period of settlement, but it was not known definitely 
whether such increased rainfall would overcome the opposite effect 
of increased acreage, until the water actually began to rise in the 
wells. For the last four seasons the rain has been slightly greater 
than during the first period, and when many of the wells began to 
flow again there was a general feeling of relief, for it is now known 
that so long as the acreage is not materially increased the community 
can pass through other dry periods. Nature has been aided in leading 
the waters of San Antonio Creek down into the subterranean reser¬ 
voirs by some very effectual work in diverting the flood water from 
the channel below the canyon and spreading it over the porous 
gravels. This work has been done chiefly by the Consolidated Water 
Company for 10 or more years, and the method will be described 
more fully in another place. 

During the season of 1905-6 there were 26.45 inches of rain, which 
amount has been exceeded only four times since 1883. The following 
season there were 23.33 inches. The first rise in the wells in the Del 
Monte and Martin Cienagas was noticed in August, 1906. During the 
previous winter the water had been spread from the creek as far south 
as Indian Hill. The water rose 10 feet in thirty days, although the 
wells were being pumped, and began to flow again in the spring months 
of 1907. That season there was 28.96 inches of rain and the flow 
increased. The wells in the Palomares Cienaga commenced to flow in 
the winter of 1907 and the spring of 1908. The flow at present is 
diminishing in the two upper cienagas and increasing in the lower 
one. There has been no rise as yet in the southern part of Pomona, 
and the water was drawn down slightly lower than before in 1908. 
The rise naturally will advance much more slowly as the water 
approaches the lower levels of the valley where the soil is more com- 

[Bull. 236] 


28 


pact, but it is believed that this section will be benefited eventually. 
The water has risen at the Philips pumping plant until it stands 25 
feet higher than in 1905. There has been little change on Chino 
rancho. The water plane in 1909 was slightly higher than in 1906, 
but it is doubtful if this level is being maintained. The development 
has extended eastward and many new pumping plants have been 
installed during the last three years. The flow of Chino Creek has 
increased, but this is due mainly to return seepage waters from irri¬ 
gated lands. No general rise has taken place at Lordsburg and La 
Verne. The amount of water that can be pumped in the Mud Springs 
Cienaga has diminished until it is of little value, but it is believed that 
this is due to the supply being cut off by pumping plants outside the 
cienaga. The water has risen 40 feet at some of the pumping plants 
at San Dimas Wash. Sufficient data have been given to show what 
the action of the water has been in the many wells. 

RIGHTS TO THE USE OF WATER SUPPLIES. 

“ CANYON WATER.” 

It would not have been necessary to pump such a great quantity of 
water from wells if Pomona were entitled to use the entire discharge 
of San Antonio Creek. When the Pomona Land and Water Com¬ 
pany was organized, in 1882, an agreement was reached with the 
individuals who later transferred their interests to the San Antonio 
Water Company, by which, after 20 miner’s inches had been taken 
out to satisfy the prior claim of the Gird ranch, located in the can¬ 
yon, the creek was to be divided equally between Pomona and Onta¬ 
rio at a point in the canyon near its mouth. It was necessary to pipe 
the water through the coarse gravel in order to bring the water down 
to the orchards, none of which, in the Pomona district, were nearer 
the canyon than 5 miles. Both Ontario and Pomona laid pipe 
lines from the division point, the Pomona line being completed in 
1885. The San Antonio Water Company in 1896 purchased the 
Gird right, and transferred both the points of diversion and use of 
this 20 miner’s inches. The Pomona Land and Water Company in 
1897 sold the San Antonio Water Company all their interest in the 
waters of the creek after they had received 312 miner’s inches, which 
amount they were under obligation to furnish to certain tracts of 
land at Pomona as long as the quantity in the creek was sufficient 
under the existing agreement with Ontario. 

The San Antonio Water Company in 1902, through a subsidiary 
organization known as the Ontario Power Company, built a power 
plant in the canyon, and water was diverted from the creek, 2J miles 
above, and carried by pipe through the power house, and finally 
[Bull. 236] 


29 


returned to the creek just above the division point. The water com¬ 
pany, after conducting a series of measurements, found that 19 per 
cent of the flow of the creek was lost by seepage in July, August, 
September, and October, 1902, between the points of diversion for 
power and the point of return to the channel, and that this would be 
saved by conveying the water through the pipe line; and they claimed 
the right, therefore, to use all this 19 per cent. The Pomona com¬ 
panies then brought suit, which resulted in a decision by the lower 
court to the effect that Ontario was entitled to use the 20 miner’s 
inches secured by the purchase of the riparian right, but not the 19 
per cent saved. This decision has been reversed in part by the 
supreme court of the State, which held that the purchase of the 
riparian right did not entitle the San Antonio Water Company to 
the use of the 20 miner’s inches, but that they were entitled to 18 
miner’s inches, because they had diverted the water for five years 
without protest.® They were also given the water saved by the pipe 
line, but the case was returned to the lower court for a more exact 
determination of the salvage in miner’s inches. The lower court de¬ 
cided, in January, 1910, that the salvage was IT per cent. Provided 
there is no further appeal, the creek will now be divided as follows: 
After giving Ontario the salvage and 18 miner’s inches, the remain¬ 
der will be divided equally between Pomona and Ontario until Po¬ 
mona has received a total of 312 miner’s inches, all the surplus going 
to Ontario. The San Antonio Water Company conveys a certain 
amount of water to a point near Red Hill through the winter, when 
it is not needed for direct irrigation. The discharge of the creek 
during floods is often many thousand miner’s inches, and when there 
is more than the San Antonio Water Company can use, Pomona 
also diverts water for spreading over the gravel beds on the west side 
of the wash. Pomona is not entitled to use more than 312 miner’s 
inches through the irrigating season, and the greater part of the time 
the discharge of the creek is so small that its share is much less. 
The right to use parts of Pomona’s share is held by the Canyon Water 
Company, Loop and Messerve tract owners, the North Palomares 
tract, and Kingsley Tract Water Company. 

The creek supplies two other power houses besides the Ontario 
Power Company. The plant of the Pacific Light and Power Com¬ 
pany returns water to the intake of the Ontario plant. Below the 
division point and before it is used on orchards Ontario’s share 
passes through the power plant of the Ontario and San Antonio 
Heights Railway Company, situated below the canyon. Thus the 
use of water for power does not prevent its use for irrigation 

a Pomona Land and Water Co. v. San Antonio Water Co., 93 Pac., 881. 

[Bull. 236] 




30 


or domestic purposes and all the normal flow is used twice and 
a part of it three times for power, the heads being 620, 700, and 90 
feet, before being used for irrigation. 

UNDERGROUND WATER. 

While there has been some litigation over rights to use subter¬ 
ranean water, this section has had less than some others in the same 
region. It has been difficult enough to decide justly questions of 
right to the use of surface waters in California, where the few laws 
in existence confront the courts with two such antagonistic doctrines 
as priority of appropriation and riparian rights. The usual com¬ 
plications with ground water are further aggravated by the inability 
to ascertain beyond doubt what takes place under ground. There 
are always many theories and honest differences of opinion regard¬ 
ing such matters, each with expert testimony in proof of its 
correctness. 

It is only natural that there should be disagreements as to rights 
under such conditions as existed in Pomona Valley, where there are 
several hundred wells, owned by nearly as many companies and indi¬ 
viduals, taking water from several basins connected in such a way 
that the usefulness of some depends upon the status of others, 
and all drawing from the same original source—the creek and its 
watershed. The matter is further complicated by the fact that the 
water is used in several independent districts with diverse interests. 

It is only in recent years that it has been necessary to consider 
separately the rights to the use of subterranean water. Although 
there have been conflicting decisions, there are evidences that a few 
fundamentals have been accepted. A distinction is made between 
percolating water, or that which seeps slowly through the ground 
without having a well-defined channel and direction of movement, 
and subterraneam streams, and the underflow of streams in the sands 
of their channels which has a movement with the surface stream. 
The difference is clear enough in theory, but often vague in practice. 
Much of the trouble has centered about operations in the washes near 
mountain canyons, where the difficulties first resolve themselves into 
the question of the class to which the underground waters belong. 
The rules and regulations for surface streams apply to subterranean 
streams, but there is practically no law for guidance in settling ques¬ 
tions of right to the use of percolating waters and the principles 
governing their use are not well defined. 

At first the common laAv was followed and it was held that perco¬ 
lating water belonged to the land in which it was present, and as 
such could be brought to the surface and used or disposed of at will 
by the owner of the land regardless of damage to other landowners 
in the same basin. Percolating water consequently was not subject 

[Bull. 236] 


31 


to appropriation as was water in a public stream. In more recent 
decisions the courts have attempted to maintain proper relation be¬ 
tween community interests and those of the individual by restricting 
each landowner to a reasonable use of the percolating water in a 
subterranean basin where he is the owner of land in common with 
others. The landowner is allowed to take from his land what water 
he can use on the land or in proportion to his holding, with due 
regard to his neighbors in the same basin, but water can not be sold 
or carried outside the basin to the detriment of other landowners with 
corelative rights.® At the same time an attempt is made to consider 
priority and to protect vested rights. 6 Where water has been di¬ 
verted from a basin and beneficial use made of it on distant lands 
for five years without objection being raised, it has been held that 
rights to use have been acquired/ 

In the absence of statutes the courts appear to have given the chief 
consideration to the needs of the claimants rather than technicalities. 
In one case complaints against an intruder, withheld until after 
money had been invested and the works completed, failed of recogni¬ 
tion because the right to proceed was not disputed within reasonable 
time after the work was instituted. 0 Weight has been given the use 
to be made of the water in question. Between a municipality needing 
water for domestic use and ranchers claiming it for irrigation, the 
former was held to have the better right/ Where both claims were 
for agricultural purposes in different localities, such a pure econom¬ 
ical factor as the relative values produced by the water in the two 
places has had influence, 0 the prior appropriator being allowed dam¬ 
ages, however, for the loss of his right. A recent decision allows 
parties who had drawn water from a basin without interference for a 
number of years by means of a tunnel to sink wells in the same local¬ 
ity and pump during a period of drought, provided no more water 
was carried away than before, and permits a change in the point of 
diversion in taking water from a saturated basin not in the channel 
of any stream so long as the amount taken out is not increased/ 

The development in Pomona Valley has been uniform, and for this 
reason the difficulties over underground water probably have been 
few, as compared with some other sections situated similarly. Few, 

° Katz v. Walkinshaw, 70 Pac., 663. 

Burr v. Maclay llancho Water Co., 98 Pac., 260; Barton v. Riverside Water 
Co., 101 Pac., 790. 

0 Hudson v. Dailey, 105 Pac., 748. 

d Los Angeles v. Baldwin, 53 Cal., 469; City of Los Angeles v. Hunter, 105 
Pac., 755. 

e Newport v. Temescal Water Co., 87 Pac., 372. 

f Barton v. Riverside Water Co., 101 Pac., 790. 


[Bull. 236] 



32 


if any, contentions have been carried into the courts as among the 
many individuals owning pumping plants. All water used near 
Pomona, Claremont, Lordsburg, and San Dimas is diverted compara¬ 
tively near its point of use. Some water used on the northern part 
of Chino rancho is diverted at Pomona. Water pumped at the head 
of San Dimas Wash and at Lordsburg is carried to Covina, Glendora, 
and Azusa for use. Water is taken by tunnel from the gravels below 
San Antonio Canyon and by both tunnel and w r ells from the ground 
near Claremont for use on lands at Ontario. Litigation is now in 
course that should establish the respective rights of the Mountain 
View Water Company, of Ontario, and the Consolidated Water Com¬ 
pany, of Pomona, to operate their tunnels east of Indian Hill. 

ORGANIZATIONS FOR PUMPING AND DELIVERING WATER. 

Had San Antonio Creek been large enough to furnish all the water 
necessary for the irrigation of the Pomona section there would prob¬ 
ably have been to-day a single mutual company delivering water to 
all the lands, but the failure of this, or any other single source, to 
furnish an adequate amount has prevented unity of organization. 
Aside from the Canyon Water Company, all of the mutual irriga¬ 
tion companies were formed for securing and distributing water 
from wells and tunnels, and most of them expected to pump much 
of the water delivered. 

A mutual company organized for the distribution of pumped 
water is not of necessity different in type from one organized for 
the distribution of water diverted from streams, yet there are some 
features in the methods which seem to be the outgrowth of the 
conditions under which the water is secured. As a consequence of 
the diversity of water sources the irrigation companies are small. 
Small streams are dealt with, measurements are precise, and charges 
are figured with exactness. 

Some expressions used in southern California which often seem 
to be merely local parlance have some real significance. The term 
“ water company ” is more common than the term “ irrigation com¬ 
pany.” The companies supply the water, but the irrigation is done 
by their individual members. Many of the small water companies in 
rural communities supply water for domestic use as well as for irri¬ 
gation. The great value of the water on which agricultural districts, 
cities, and towns all depend for their existence, and the many sales 
or rentals of water, together with the transfers of the points of use 
of this so made commodity, have the effect of emphasizing the term. 
When water is obtained from wells or tunnels it is said to be 
“ developed,” and numerous legal contracts pertain to the right 
“ to develop ” water on certain lands. “ Canyon water ” is a localism 
used in referring to water from the mountain canyons and to the 

[Bull. 23G] 


33 


surface flow of streams to distinguish it from underground water 
designated after being recovered as well water or tunnel water. 
Percolating water is a legal distinction. 

The mutual companies have different methods of providing the 
funds to meet their expenses. The capital stock representing the 
original investment in property often includes the purchase of land 
as a site for wells or the right to secure water on the land and the 
cost of distributing pipe and rights of way, as well as the cost of the 
pumping plants and the wells themselves. Some of the cienaga lands 
are valued very highly. The Del Monte Irrigation Company paid 
$25,000 for the right to develop water on 68 acres, embracing most 
of the Martin Cienaga. This did not give them title to the land 
itself. Companies have purchased favorably located land for which 
they have no immediate need to retain it for possible future use, if 
not for the sole purpose of keeping others from sinking wells where 
they would interfere with the service of their own wells. There is 
often much speculation in sinking wells, although much more is 
known now than formerly about locations where good wells may be 
secured. There are about 30 abandoned pumping plants and prob¬ 
ably 75 wells which have never flowed and which do not yield suffi¬ 
cient water to warrant pumping, the cost of which is estimated at 
$150,000. Some companies have sunk a large number of wells before 
securing even a small stream of water. The Chino Water Company 
has twenty-one wells in the northern part of Pomona, of which onty 
two have been pumped. 

Most of the pumping plants of the larger companies are run only 
about six months in a year; those of smaller companies and of indi¬ 
viduals less. The life of pumping machinery is short, and depre¬ 
ciation, with interest, taxes, and insurance, must be figured at from 
15 to 20 per cent, being less for electrical than for engine-driven 
plants. In some of the companies the cost of operation is provided 
for by a charge for the water delivered, and the stock is assessed to 
cover the cost of maintenance, permanent improvements, and pay¬ 
ment of bonded indebtedness and interest. This method apportions 
the cost among the stockholders correctly, since betterments to prop¬ 
erty benefits each stockholder in proportion to the stock he owns, 
while the operation benefits him in proportion to the time water is 
furnished to his land. Some companies, on the other hand, meet all 
expenses by assessments alone, and in others the water rental is high 
enough to cover all ordinary repairs, and an occasional assessment is 
made when an unusually large expense is incurred, such as the pur¬ 
chase of new machinery. In case expenses are less than estimated 
and the charge for water is fixed high enough to bring money into 
the treasury that is left unused, it is generally held over for future 
use. Dividends are rare and are not advisable, as they would offer an 

34575°—Bull. 236—12-3 



34 


inducement to own shares of stock not needed for the land, and such 
speculation is not consistent with the purposes of the companies. 

Most of the larger mutual companies deliver water only to stock¬ 
holders, but some of the smaller ones, whose pumping plants need 
not be operated continuously through the irrigating season to supply 
the stockholders, make a profit by renting or selling water to others. 
This is always prohibited, however, if any of the stockholders need 
the water, and the charge is usually higher than that made to mem¬ 
bers of the company. The La Verne Land and Water Company 
charges stockholders 1^ cents per miner’s inch per hour for the water 
delivered, and others 3 cents per miner’s inch per hour. Stockholders 
in the Orange Grove Tract Water Company pay 30 cents per hour for 
the head of water delivered, from 40 to 50 miner’s inches, while others 
must pay 50 cents per hour. The operating expense of companies 
consists chiefly of salaries of secretary, superintendent, zanjeros, engi¬ 
neers of pumping plants, and fuel or electrical power. 

The law of California makes it the duty of boards of supervisors 
of counties or the trustees of cities, when petitioned by a certain num¬ 
ber of taxpaying inhabitants, to fix water rates chargeable by corpora¬ 
tions or individuals conducting a business of a public utility nature. 
The law specifies that the rate shall be fixed to give a profit of not 
less than 6 or over 18 per cent on the value of the plant. Were a 
sufficient number of people in some of the southern counties inter¬ 
ested enough to petition such action, it is presumed that the rates 
charged nonmembers of the water companies could be established 
according to law, but the law was intended to apply to larger com¬ 
panies organized for no other purpose than the profit in the sale of 
water. The customers of a small company are fewer than the num¬ 
ber of petitioners required, and, further, the rates charged are well 
within the limitations of profit, or at least w r ell below the maximum 
allowable. The purchasers of water usually consider it a favor to 
have their land served, and do not complain of the charges; so, regard¬ 
less of what legal interpretation might be placed upon the law, in 
practice it does not concern the little water companies. 

Of the mutual companies in this section serving orchards there are 
only four that supply water to 1,000 or more acres. Three of these, 
the Irrigation Company, of Pomona, the Del Monte Irrigation Com¬ 
pany, and the San Dimas Irrigation Company are distributers of 
pumped water, wdiile one, the Canyon Water Company, is, as its name 
implies, a distributer of “ canyon water.” 

The Pomona Land and Water Company, the pioneer private cor- 
j poration, after sinking artesian wells, caused the organization of 
three mutual companies, the Irrigation Company of Pomona in 
1886, the Del Monte Irrigation Company, and the Palomares 

[Bull. 236] 


35 


9 

Irrigation Company in 1887. The wells, together with the right 
to use the water they produced and the right “ to develop ” more 
water, were transferred to these mutual companies in exchange for 
the stock of the mutual companies. This stock, a share of which 
was equivalent to a water right, was then sold with the land to 
settlers by the Land and Water Company. There is a State law 
which permits a corporation to incorporate in its by-laws a require¬ 
ment that stock representing a water right be appurtenant to the land 
with which it is sold, and this provision was taken advantage of. 
The Land and Water Company forbids the purchasers separating the 
stock from the land unless the stock be first returned to the company, 
or, in other words, unless the transaction be made through the me¬ 
dium of the company. The purchasers were also not allowed to sink 
wells and develop water on their own land, the intention being to 
prevent them selling water. The company, however, has always 
granted purchasers permission to develop water for their own use 
when it was desired, and no occasion has arisen to test the legality of 
the restriction. The right to lay pipe lines through the lands sold 
was reserved by the company. In 1885, before the organization of 
the mutual companies, unimproved orange land with water sold for 
from $75 to $150 per acre. 

IRRIGATION COMPANY OF POMONA. 

The Irrigation Company of Pomona was originally organized to 
serve 2,450 acres of land lying between Pomona proper and San 
Antonio Wash on both sides of the Southern Pacific and Salt Lake 
Railroad tracks. North of the tracks there are citrus orchards prin¬ 
cipally, while south of the tracks the farming is diversified and in¬ 
cludes a large area of alfalfa, some deciduous orchards, small fruits, 
and truck gardens. The company has twenty wells in the Palomares 
Cienaga, which have flowed some years. When the artesian flow 
becomes light or ceases altogether, they pump from sixteen of these 
wells with one air compressor. 

The company is capitalized at $245,000, making the par value of the 
shares, of which there was intended to be 10 for each acre, $10 each. 
Each 10 shares entitles the holder to the equivalent of a continuous 
flow of 1 miner’s inch of water. The number of shares actually used 
per acre varies from 5 to 20, the average being near 13. On this basis 
the owner is entitled to 1.3 miner’s inches for each 10-acre unit, or 1 
miner’s inch for about 8 acres, and the par value of a water right for 
an acre is $130 instead of $100. The market value of a share at pres¬ 
ent is only about $2, being equivalent to a value of $20 for a water 
right for an acre with the use of 1 inch for 10 acres or $26 for a right 
for an acre with the use of 1 inch for 8 acres. Some unusual condi¬ 
tions have brought about this great depreciation. 

[Bull. 236] 


36 


For a time after the company was organized there was a large 
area of deciduous fruit to be served in the southern part of Pomona, 
but these orchards gradually grew less profitable and many of them 
have been replaced by alfalfa. Some of this land was subdivided 
into lots and sold as the city grew. Some gardening and growing 
of small fruits is carried on, for which water for irrigating is secured 
through the city’s domestic service. A few of the remaining orchards 
are not irrigated at all and private pumping plants have been sub¬ 
stituted to a large extent where alfalfa is being irrigated. Conse¬ 
quently, there are many water rights for sale, and since the wells of 
the company are so low that only a limited portion of the citrus 
district can be supplied from them, the demand for the rights is 
small. 

The installation of the machinery at the pumping plant cost 
$14,729, and the total cost of the plant, including the air pipe, was 
$22,506.10. This brought the indebtedness of the company up to 
$33,000, but the debt has now all been paid. The company distributes 
water through mains of 8, 10, and 12-inch vitrified clay and cement 
pipe, the cost of the system being estimated at $50,000. A cement 
concrete reservoir 9 feet deep, 190 feet in diameter, and having a 
capacity of nearly 2,000,000 gallons, was constructed recently as a 
part of the distributing system. 

Annual assessments of 10 to 50 cents per share have been levied, 
but with the indebtedness cleared they should be less in the future. 
A charge of 50 cents per hour is made to the stockholders for each 
head of water delivered, the heads varying from 40 to 60 miner’s 
inches. The total received from water rentals in 1908 was $5,144.20. 
This exceeded all running expenses by about $1,200. The expenses 
for the year were as follows: Salaries of secretary, superintendent, 
zanjero, and directors, $1,330; pumping, including salary of engineer 
and assistant, cost of fuel, lubricants, electricity, etc., $2,342.69; 
maintenance and repairs, principally for pipe lines, $766.11; insur¬ 
ance and taxes, $105.47; office expenses, telephone service, printing, 
etc., $272. The cost of pumping and of maintenance and repairs for 
the previous four years is as follows: 

Cost of pumping, maintenance, and repairs of Hie Irrigation Company of Pomona. 


Year. 

Cost of 
pumping. 

Cost of 
mainte¬ 
nance and 
repairs. 

Year. 

Cost of 
pumping. 

Cost of 
mainte¬ 
nance and 
repairs. 

1904. 

$4,486.97 

3,013.75 

$595.06 
293.57 

1906. 

$2,820.20 

3,127.01 

$236.85 
587.85 

1905. 

1907. 




The cost of pumping varies considerably because there is much less 
pumping done when the wells flow. 

[Bull. 236] 






















37 


DEL MONTE IRRIGATION COMPANY. 

The Del Monte Irrigation Company supplies water for 2,000 acres 
lying southeast of Claremont, all in citrus orchards. The water is 
derived from a large number of wells in the Del Monte and Martin 
cienagas. These flowed enough when first made and again in recent 
years to supply all the water needed, but for a number of years it 
was necessary to pump. Formerly seven of the wells were pumped 
by an air plant, while one other was fitted with a deep-well pump, 
driven by an electric motor. The air plant has now been abandoned 
and five other plants of the type just described, drawing water from 
the best wells, have taken its place. The basis of the water right is 
the same as in the Irrigation Company of Pomona, and the average 
number of shares used per acre is the same. The number used by 
different individuals varies greatly, some renting enough shares to 
give them 20 shares per acre. The present value of a share is $13, 
making a water right for an acre worth about $170. Two assess¬ 
ments, one for 50 cents per share and the other 25 cents per share, 
have been made annually, the receipts from which have been sufficient 
to pay all running expenses of the company and $5,000 of the indebt¬ 
edness as well. These two assessment brought $15,750 in 1908. The 
debt has now been cleared and the assessments may be reduced. No 
charge is made to stockholders for the water delivered through the 
irrigating season, but sometimes special runs are made and 40 cents 
per hour charged for the head delivered. The revenue from this 
source in 1908 was $539.32. 

The following is a copy of the company’s financial statement for 
1908, which shows in full the receipts and expenditures for the year, 
together with the value of its property: 

Financial statement of the Del Monte Irrigation Company for 1908 . 


RECEIPTS. 

Balance from last year_ $1, 349.11 

Sale of old pipe (pipe lines)_ 82.00 

Sale of injector and old brick (air plant)_ 28.45 

Assessment No. 27 (50 cents per share)_ 10,500.00 

Assessment No. 28 (25 cents per share)_ 5,250.00 

Received from water runs_ 539. 32 

Certificate transfer fees_ 10. 75 


Total_ 17, 759. 63 


DISBURSEMENTS. 


Ten bonds- 5, 000. 00 

Bills payable- 6,000. 00 

Taxes and insurance_ 370. 81 

Interest- 848.48 

[Bull. 236] 

















38 


Salaries: 

Secretary-$300.00 

Zanjero_ 600. 00 

Superintendent_ ISO. 00 

Directors_ 102. 50 

- $1,182. 50 

Office expenses: 

Auditing books_ 10. 00 

Telephone _ 18. 50 

Postage and supplies_ 47.10 

—- 75. 60 

Printing and advertising_ 52.24 

Operating expense_ 3. 85 

Electric power_ 1,493.65 

Water from Consolidated Water Company_ 513.94 

Pipe-line repairs_ 56. 00 

Pump repairs_ 60. 20 

Maintenance and repairs_ 1, 060. 23 

Cash on hand_ 1, 042.13 


Total_ 17, 759. 63 


ASSETS. 

Water-development rights _ 210, 000. 00 

Real estate_ 1, 750. 00 

Buildings_ 2, 700. 00 

Pipe lines_ 18, 079. 29 

Air plant_ 850.43 

Deep-well pumps and motors_ 14, 000. 00 

Office supplies (estimated on hand)_ 10.00 

Operating supplies (estimated on hand)_ 50.00 

Fuel (estimated on hand)_ 300.00 

Tools (estimated on hand)_ 100.00 

Cash in bank_ 1, 042.13 


Total- 248, 881. 85 


LIABILITIES. 

Capital stock- 210, 000. 00 

Bonded indebtedness_ 10,000.00 

Bills payable- 3, 000.00 

Surplus or estimated excess value of plant over lia¬ 
bilities - 25, 881. 85 


Total- 248, 881. 85 

The foregoing shows the operating expense, together with the cost 
of electrical power, to be $1,497.50. This varies from year to year, 
according to the flow of the wells. In 1908 the aggregate flow 
diminished from 180 miner’s inches in April to 50 miner’s inches in 
November. As an attempt is made to maintain four heads of 50 
miner’s inches each throughout the season, it was necessary to start 

[Bull. 236] 












































39 


one pump in May, a second in July, and two more in August, and in 
the latter part of the season a stream of 20 miner's inches was rented 
from the Consolidated Water Company at a cost of 30 cents per 
hour. The total cost for this last item was $513.94, but it was con¬ 
sidered cheaper than starting another pump. The previous year it 
was not necessary to pump at all. In 1905, when the air plant and 
one electrical plant were operated, and when all the water was lifted 
about 90 feet from the wells, the cost was as follows: Operating 
expense, engineers’ salaries, lubricating oils, etc., $2,176.16; fuel, 
$2,923.40; and electric power, $1,132.60; making a total of $6,232.16. 

In 1906 about $18,000 was spent for new wells, pumps, electric 
motors, pipe lines, buildings, and real estate, bringing the total dis¬ 
bursements up to $34,000, and two assessments of 50 cents each were 
required. 

SAN DIMAS IRRIGATION COMPANY. 

The San Dimas Irrigation Company is a mutual company, organ¬ 
ized in 1894, which serves 1,025 acres of oranges and lemons at San 
Dimas. It succeeded to the property and rights of the San Jose 
Ranch Company, a corporation which had absorbed the San Dimas 
Land and Water Company in 1887. The company owns and operates 
four pumping plants, one being in Mud Springs Cienaga, where 
several wells were pumped with compressed air. There was for¬ 
merly a steam engine and centrifugal pump unit also, but this has 
been replaced by electrical power. The amount of water produced 
by the cienaga has been diminished to such an extent by the heavy 
draft made upon it, not only by these wells, but by others outside the 
cienaga, which apparently intercept the flow toward it, that it is now 
of much less service than formerty. At its Bonita plant, just above 
the cienaga, the company operates two deep-well pumps with gaso¬ 
line engines-. At another plant in San Dimas Wash, known as the 
Wash plant, a centrifugal pump and electric motor are used. At the 
newly acquired Walnut Avenue plant, also located in the wash, 
there is a gasoline engine and centrifugal pump. By a compromise 
made in 1905 ending the litigation over the rights in this stream, 
and by recent purchase of rights of other claimants, the company is 
entitled to one-fifth of the discharge of San Dimas Canyon until the 
total flow exceeds 37^ miner’s inches and all of the excess. The 
amounts produced in the season of 1908 w T ere as follows: Cienaga 
plant, 50 miner’s inches; Bonita plant, 65 miner’s inches; Wash 
plant, 125 to 80 miner’s inches; and from the canyon a small and 
variable amount, depending upon the rainfall. Since the addition of 
the Walnut Avenue plant to the system an average of about 255 
miner’s inches is distributed through the irrigation season. 

[Bull. 236] 


40 


The company was formed to irrigate 1,600 acres and is capitalized 
at $160,000, with the par value of shares at $100, there being one 
share for each acre. 

One miner’s inch was intended to serve 10 acres, but the entire tract 
is not irrigated, and since the number of full-grown trees has in¬ 
creased, each 10 acres is allotted a continuous flow of l\ miner’s 
inches, making 1 inch serve 6-J acres. .The company has an indebted¬ 
ness of $28,000 and 1,025 shares have been issued. The value of a 
share or right for 1 acre is conservatively estimated by Mr. Bowring, 
the company’s manager, at about $100. The expenses are provided 
for by a charge of 2 cents per miner’s inch per hour to stockholders 
and 2^ cents per miner’s inch per hour to others, who can be furnished 
water only when there is more than the stockholders need. The 
canyon water is sold before the regular irrigation season at prices 
regulated by supply and demand, but the charge usually is less than 
in the pumping season. The company also is a carrier and distributor 
of water pumped by others, for which service a charge of one-fourth 
cent per miner’s inch per hour is made. A small revenue also is 
received from domestic water furnished the town of San Dimas. No 
assessments have been necessary in recent years. The total receipts 
in 1908 were $19,206.88, and the total disbursements $18,863.52. The 
cost of pumping and repairs for 1908 is summarized for each plant 
as follows: 

Cost of pumping and repairs, San Dimas Irrigation Company, 1908. 


Cienaga plant: 

Pumping-$2,218.05 

Repairs_ 101. 77 

Repairs to shaft and pipe line_ 273. 78 

Wash plant: 

Pumping !- 2, 554. 24 

Repairs- 218. 54 

Bonita plant: 

Pumping- 1, 740 . 34 

Repairs- 526. 58 

The cost of water per miner’s inch per hour was: 

Cienaga plant--$0.0133 

Wash plant_ . 0092 

Bonita plant_ . 0116 


CANYON WATER COMPANY. 

The Canyon Water Company, although not a distributor of 
pumped water, is a mutual company furnishing water to about 1,500 
acres in the northern portion of Pomona. As the water supplied by 
the canyon falls low during the latter part of the irrigating season 
much of this land then receives a supplemental supply from pumping 

[Bull. 236] 












41 


plants, and those owning stock in the company are usually owners 
of shares of stock in other companies having pumping plants or wells. 
The company controls 66 per cent of Pomona’s share of the water 
from San Antonio Canyon, and as the latter has fallen as low as 100 
miner’s inches and is limited to a maximum of 312 miner’s inches, 
the quantity distributed by the company varies from 66 to 206 miner’s 
inches. The stockholders in the company include a greater portion 
of the landowners of the Loop and Meserve tract and all of those on 
the subdivision known as the Kingsley tract. The remainder of the 
canyon water is used by the other landowners on the Loop and 
Meserve tract and those on the North Palomares tract. The com¬ 
pany is capitalized at $312,000, the par value of a share being $10. 
Thus there are 100 shares for each miner’s inch of water received by 
all of the Pomona interests, and it was the original intention that all 
landowners owning rights to canyon water should become members 
of the company. In practice one miner’s inch serves about 8 acres 
and the water is valued at $1,500 per miner’s inch, making an acre 
water right worth $187.50. Landowners on the Kingsley tract have 
organized the Kingsley Tract Water Company, whose pumps supply 
additional water when the creek is low. The creek water is brought 
from the canyon through the Loop and Meserve cement pipe line, 
which is maintained jointly by the company and the other users of the 
canyon water. The maintenance and operation cost about $3 per 
miner’s inch annually, or about 37 \ cents per acre. 

OTHER IRRIGATION COMPANIES. 

The following small incorporated mutual companies also supply 
pumped water to citrus orchards: 

Serving lands near Pomona: Palomares Irrigation Company, 
Kingsley Tract Water Company, Currier Tract Water Company, 
Orange Grove Tract Water Company, Packard Water Company, and 
Monte Vista Irrigation Company. 

Serving lands near Claremont : Claremont Cooperative Water 
Company, Pomona Ranch Water Company, Monte Vista Water 
Company, Valley View Water Company, M*>nt Antonio Water Com¬ 
pany, Harrison Avenue Water Company, and Indian Hill Water 
Company. 

Serving lands near Lordsburg: La Verne Land and Water Com¬ 
pany, Mesa Land and Water Company, Live Oak Water Company, 
Citrus Water Company, Old Baldy Water Company, Illinois Land 
and Water Company, Mills Tract Water Company, and Richards 
Irrigation Company. 

Serving lands near San Dimas: Artesian Belt Water Company, 
Frostless Belt Water Company, La Verne Irrigating Company, and 
New Deal Land and Water Company. 

[Bull. 236] 


42 


In the foregoing the largest area served by one company, the Palo- 
mares Irrigation Company, is 600 acres. The principal difference in 
the manner of conducting the business of the smaller and the larger 
companies is one of magnitude and not of method. The smaller ones 
have one or sometimes two pumping plants, and distribute only one 
head of water, which, where the plant capacity is small, is often of a 
small size. The expenses of such companies vary from $3 to $10 per 
acre per annum. In the Palomares Company an annual assessment 
of 30 cents per share has been sufficient for several years, since the 
indebtedness has been cleared. This amounts to $3.90 per acre on 
the basis of the average use of 13 shares per acre, or about 1 miner’s 
inch to 8 acres. 

The Chino Water Company is the only mutual company in the 
district serving land entirely in the alfalfa and diversified-crop 
region. It was organized as subsidiary to the Chino Land and Water 
Company, a close corporation, which has been selling the subdivided 
land of Chino rancho. It w r as organized for about 1,000 acres along 
the north border of the ranch, and a share of stock represents one-tenth 
miner’s inch. More than half the tract has been sold to settlers at 
present, and consequently they control the company. The water 
rights may be considered to have a present market value of about 
$75 per acre, although they are not sold separately from the land. 
A head of 50 to 60 miner’s inches is delivered and a charge of 2 cents 
per miner’s inch per hour is made except to the holders of certain 
old rights, who pay only 1J cents per hour. This rental was sufficient 
to pay all expenses of the company last year, but it is expected that 
assessments will have to be made when any unusual expenditures are 
incurred. The company owns two pumping plants and seventeen 
wells in the Palomares Cienaga in Pomona. A 16-inch cement pipe 
line carries the water from these pumping plants to the land irrigated. 
The distributing system includes two concrete reservoirs. 

Several other corporations organized for profit pump water prin¬ 
cipally for use on their own lands. The Pomona Land and Water 
Company operates one pumping plant. The Chino Land and Water 
Company has two pumping plants and a number of flowing wells. 
The latter company leases water to some of the landowners on Chino 
rancho. For a number of years prior to 1905 Chino rancho was 
mortgaged and, as this prevented the sale of the land, development 
was slow. The ownership of the stock of the company changed in 
that year, and the indebtedness was cleared. Settlement has been 
rapid since and has extended eastward until about three-fourths of 
the valley lands of the rancho are now owned by settlers. Alfalfa 
land has been sold at $125 and $150 per acre without water, the pur¬ 
chaser being at liberty to develop water on his own land but not 
allowed to sell it to others. 


[Bull. 236] 


43 


The American Beet Sugar Company pumps water for use in their 
factory at Chino from a number of wells by compressed air, and the 
waste from the factory is used in irrigating their best lands. 

There are about twenty partnership pumping plants in the valley, 
and numerous others under individual ownership. These are found 
in all parts of the district and seem to be preferred by the alfalfa 
ranchers. It gives them greater independence in regard to the time 
for irrigating, which is more necessary with alfalfa than with 
orchards. One partnership plant in the alfalfa region is located 
with the well and pump on one ranch and the engine on the other. 
Each of the owners pays the other 50 cents per hour when he runs 
the plant, which delivers about 24 miner’s inches, and each is limited 
by agreement to the irrigation of 42J acres. 

COMPANIES FURNISHING WATER FOR DOMESTIC USES. 

The character of the towns of southern California is such that it is 
difficult to distinguish between the domestic and agricultural uses 
of water. The towns are spread over large areas and the possibilities 
of growing man}^ varieties of fruits, flowers, and ornamental trees 
and of gardening throughout almost the entire year cause much of 
the water nominally supplied for domestic purposes to be really 
used for irrigation. The city of Pomona is supplied with domestic 
water by the Consolidated Water Company, a private corporation. 
The company owns one tunnel and several pumping plants, a large 
distributory system of cement and iron pipe, and a concrete reservoir 
holding 1,000,000 gallons. Its property was valued at $362,000 in 1907 
by engineers appointed by the city of Pomona. Chino is supplied 
with domestic water by the Chino Domestic Water Company, the 
stock of which is owned entirely by the Chino Land and Water 
Company. Claremont is supplied by the Citizens’ Light and Water 
Company, which operates two pumping plants. San Dimas depends 
on the San Dimas Irrigation Company for domestic water, and 
Lordsburg is supplied by a municipal system with two pumping 
plants. There are no other municipally owned domestic water plants. 

PUMPING INSTALLATIONS. 

The map (PI. I) shows the location of 260 pumping plants, and 
about 30 additional plants recently constructed are located on Chino 
rancho, east of these limits. The map does not show the location of 
wells not pumped. It is estimated that $1,000,000 has been invested 
in pumping plants and wells in this territory. 

[Bull. 236] 


44 


WELLS. 

The part of a pumping plant that is most difficult to obtain is the 
well, and not the machinery. The first wells were of 7-inch casing. 
Later 10 and 12 inches were the common sizes, while now 14 to 26 
inch wells are driven. The larger sizes are more suitable for the use 
of both deep-well and centrifugal pumps, and give a larger area for 
water to enter the wells from the gravel strata. Wells are bored 
much deeper than formerly, for with a changing ground water level 
it lias been found desirable to penetrate several good water-bearing 
strata. The rapid and cheap hydraulic, or rotary, process of sinking 
wells so much used in the southern rice belt can not be employed on 
account of the many bowlders encountered, the standard water rig 
with drill and sand bucket being required. With such a rig the 
casing is forced down to follow the excavation by hydraulic pressure, 
often reaching 100 tons. The wells are cased with a double thick¬ 
ness of riveted steel, 12 and 14 gauge, in lengths of 2 feet, placed with 
broken joints. This is known as stovepipe casing, and, as it has no 
couplings like screwed casing, it is smooth on the outside and more 
easily forced down. 

At the bottom of each well is the starter, a riveted slieet-steel tube 
of treble thickness, 20 feet long, carrying a steel shoe at the lower 
end. Strainers are unnecessary, as there is no quicksand or very fine 
sand unmixed with gravel, but the casing is slashed where it is in 
contact with water-bearing strata. This is done after the casing has 
been sunk by a special implement lowered into the well. The cutter 
of the tool is forced through the sheet-metal casing from the inside, 
and leaves a slot with edges bent outward, with the narrowest part of 
the opening at the outside, so that anything that enters the outside 
will be drawn through by the pump, thus preventing any tendency 
to clog. It is advantageous to make as many openings through which 
the water can enter as possible, without weakening the casing. Four 
cuts are made in the circumference of 10 and 12 inch casing, and more 
for the larger sizes. The cuts are vertical, and must be less than 2 
feet long, since that length might sever an entire joint. Perforated 
starters like those sometimes used for wells near the coast have not 
been used in this locality. A cut or perforated section of casing 
should be rather below than above the water-bearing stratum from 
which it is to draw, since, when pumping, the surface of the ground 
water falls rapidly as the water is drawn toward the well and the 
head forces water into the casing. Many new wells on first being 
pumped deliver much sand. This is an indication that the well will 
be a good producer of water after the fine sand has been removed 

[Bull. 236] 


45 


from the material immediately around the casing, thereby providing 
a more free passage for the water through this contracted portion. 

The price of drilling wells is much greater where there are bowl¬ 
ders than in fine material. Among bowlders a large well is also 
cheaper in proportion to its size than a small one, because the bowl¬ 
ders can be removed more readily through a large casing, while in 
drilling a small well they must be pushed aside or cut through. 
In fine material T to 14 inch wells, not over 350 feet deep, are drilled 
for $1.50 per foot. Near the foothills, where there are many large 
bowlders, 12-inch wells cost $2 per. foot, and 50 cents is added for 
each additional 2 inches in diameter, making a 24-inch well cost $5 
per foot. These prices do not include the cost of steel casing, which 
is as follows: 

Cost per foot of steel well easing. 


Diameter. 

16-gauge. 

14-gauge. 

12-gauge. 

10-gauge. 

Inches. 

7 

10 

12 

14 

16 

20 

24 

$0.59 
.83 
.90 
1.08 
1.21 

$0.68 

.99 

1.06 

1.20 

1.33 

1.57 



$1.20 

1.37 

1.62 

1.94 

2.23 

2.69 

$1.78 

1.97 

2.17 

2.64 

3.20 




In fine material 2-ply starters are used, but among bowlders 3-ply 
should be used for the lower 15 feet and 2-ply for the remaining 5 
feet. A 12-inch 2-ply starter of 24-gauge iron costs $48 and a 24-inch 
3-ply starter of the same gauge $127. 

TYPES OF PUMPING MACHINERY. 

After passing through several stages in the use of pumping ma¬ 
chinery, in which nearly all kinds of installations have been tried, 
the practice lias narrowed down to the use of a few kinds which have 
proven to be best adapted to the conditions. The number of plants 
now operated, representing the several common types of installation, 
are about as follows: Gasoline engines and centrifugal pumps, 100; 
gasoline engines and deep-well pumps, 50; electric motors and cen¬ 
trifugal pumps, 30; electric motors and deep-well pumps, 40; steam 
engines and centrifugal pumps, 6; steam engines and air lifts, 6. 

The manufacture of pumps and irrigation supplies is an important 
industry at Pomona^ and is the outgrowth of the need of machinery 
adapted to the high lifts of the locality and appliances better adapted 
to control the water than those that can be secured in the general 
market. There is a new centrifugal pump manufactured in addition 
to the several deep-well pumps that have originated there. 

[Bull. 236] 

















46 


CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS. 

The centrifugal pumps used are of the vertical kind and have 
closed runners balanced by a distribution of the head over unequal 
areas on top and bottom of the runner that will overcome the weight 
of the runner and the shafting above. The balance in some of the 
pumps is accomplished by a top suction and the local pump has a 
bottom suction, thereby dispensing with some pipe and two elbows 
in the suction. The common sizes are 4-inch and 5-inch pumps, and 
these are fitted with 10-inch discharge pipes and with as large suc¬ 
tion pipes as will enter the well casing, thereby reducing the friction 
to be overcome in pumping. Pumps are provided with a water seal 
at the stuffing box to prevent air leaks. When the ground water is 
receding pumps are rarely found submerged, and many of them on 
poor wells work with suction lifts almost to the limit. While it 
should make no difference theoretically how the lift is distributed 
between suction and discharge so long as the suction limit is not 
exceeded, in actual practice on account of air bubbles entering the 
wells the shorter the suction lift the better. The pumps are placed 
at the bottom of open shafts excavated as deep as the ground water 
will permit. These shafts, or pits, usually are 6 by 6 or 5 by 7 feet 
when curbed with 2-inch redwood boards, or circular when curbed 
with concrete. The cost of the excavation varies with the depth. 
When the ground water recedes the pumps must often be lowered 
to keep them within suction reach of the water. This necessitates 
deepening the shafts and removing additional joints of the well 
casing. During the dry years many of the pumps w T ere lowered 20 
feet every two years. One shaft in the San Dimas Wash, already a 
little over 200 feet in depth, was lowered 20 feet and curbed at a 
cost of $400. At a plant near Chino the shaft and pump were lowered 
from a depth of 40 feet to one of 60 feet at a cost of $218. 

Curbing sinks unless it is suspended from the top. This is com¬ 
monly prevented by fastening it to two timbers laid across the open 
shaft on the surface. The life of a wooden curbing is short and many 
pump shafts made ten or more years ago have caved as a result of the 
decay of the curbing. Concrete curbing, although more expensive 
to put in, is the most economical in the end, and many shafts are now 
curbed with this material. 

The Consolidated Water Company has a 60-foot circular shaft, 
with inside diameter of 6 feet curbed with a 6-inch wall of reenforced 
concrete. The reenforcement consists of y^-inch twisted steel rods 
laid both vertically and horizontally, with a spacing of 18 inches. 
The curbing was constructed on top of a steel shoe and lowered with 
the excavation. The weight of the curbing is supported by four 
f-inch steel cables fastened to the shoe at the bottom and passing 
through the concrete walls to the timber at the top. 

[Bull. 236] 


47 


Centrifugal pumps are placed at the bottom of a wooden frame, 
which also supports the shafting with its bearings and the suction 
and discharge pipes, the whole being suspended in the shaft from the 
timbers across the top. The pump and frame are then independent 
of the well curbing, and the settling of the latter does not disturb the 
alignment of the shafting. The pump also may be very conveniently 
raised for repairs or lowered to follow a receding water level. The 
frames are built of 2 by 12 inch timber, the sides being of double 
thickness. These are bolted together in sections, and in raising the 
pumps the sections may be taken off separately. It is only necessary 
when the pumps must be lowered to lengthen the frame and shafting 
at the top and add more shaft bearings. Steel pump frames, although 
heavy and costly, are coming to be more generally used on account 
of their strength and durability. One of these, 98 feet in length, is 
built of 12-incli channel iron, with diagonal bracing, the cross beams 
and the shaft bearings being spaced 6^ feet apart. The cost was 
$2.50 per linear foot. 

The seasonal and periodical changes in the ground-water level 
are so great that it is not practical to connect a centrifugal pump with 
two or more wells by suction pipes passing through tunnels from 
the shaft. For the same reason it is not practical to use either a 
horizontal centrifugal pump, directly connected to an electric motor 
at the bottom of the shaft, or a vertical pump and vertical motor 
directly connected. With the direct-connected vertical installation 
the only objection would be the difficulty of changing the pump speed 
for changes in lift. With belted machinery a set of pulleys enables 
the changes to be made in the pump speed that are required for good 
efficiency. 

A type of vertical pump much used in the Louisiana and Texas 
rice fields has been installed on a few wells near Chino. This pump 
is placed in a steel-cased shaft or pit less than 30 inchesdn diameter. 
The casing, or shell, carries an auger at the bottom and is bored into 
the ground by a rotary well rig. These pumps and pit casings are 
primarily for use where it is desired that a pump run submerged or 
where quicksand makes it difficult to lower a pit in saturated ground 
in the ordinary way. 

Turbine pumps are used on a few wells in the northern part of 
the valley. This pump is a modification of the centrifugal pump, 
made to avoid the necessity of a .pit where the lift is from great 
depths. It consists of several small runners on a vertical shaft, each 
within its own shell, the entire series being placed under water inside 
the casing of a bored well. The runners are given a high speed. 
The efficiency is not high, and the 5-inch pump is not recommended 
for lifts over 225 feet. 

[Bull. 236] 


48 


DEEP-WELL PUMPS. 

The deep-well pumps used raise water by means of plungers work¬ 
ing in a cylinder attached to the bottom of a discharge or column 
pipe, the whole of which has been lowered into the well until the 
cylinder remains under water while pumping. The cylinder is of 
brass and is about 2 inches less in diameter than the well casing, while 
the column pipe is only 1 inch less. 

The pumps are double-acting, and two plungers, in which valves 
are combined, are worked in one cylinder by rods connecting with 
a power head at the top of the well. A solid rod connecting with 
the lower plunger passes inside a hollow rod connecting with the 
upper plunger and both rods pass through a stuffing box at the sur¬ 
face. The pumps are provided with a check valve and air chamber. 
The customary sizes are from 7-inch cylinder and 24-inch stroke to 
16-inch cylinder and 36-inch stroke. Speeds of from 18 to 30 strokes 
per minute are used, and one plunger makes its upward while the 
other makes its downward stroke, so that there is a constant dis¬ 
charge. Power heads are a combination of gears and levers by which 
the circular motion of the belt Avheel is transformed into the recipro¬ 
cating motion of the rods and plungers. The heads are ingeniously 
arranged to cause one plunger to begin its upward stroke by means 
of a quick return before the other has quite completed its upward 
stroke, and thus in a measure avoids pulsation in the discharge. 
Without the lap the long water column would have to be started in 
its upward movement twice in each revolution of the crank arm as 
the latter passed the dead centers, and this would require more power 
as well as cause more wear on the machinery. 

The usefulness of deep-well pumps depends much on the condition 
of the leathers on the plungers. These wear rapidly, and must be 
replaced every two years on pumps that are used much, and if sand 
is pumped they wear out in much less time. The cost of leathers 
themselves is small, but the pulling of the rods and plungers neces¬ 
sary to replace them is expensive. As the column pipe is larger than 
the cylinder, the plungers may be removed through the column pipe. 
Power heads are placed on concrete floors on the surface or in con¬ 
crete-lined pits 6 feet deep. 

COMPRESSED-AIR PUMPS. 

• 

Compressed air has been used principally in pumping a large num¬ 
ber of wells, usually from 6 to 20, from one central plant. The me¬ 
chanical efficiency of the air lift is low, due in part to the useless work 
represented by the heat that accompanies compression. The first 
cost of the air lift is high for pumping single wells. Water can, 
however, be pumped very cheaply when the air can be piped to 10 or 

[Bull. 236] 


49 


more wells, but when it is carried more than one-half mile from the 
compressor the loss of pressure by friction in 6 to 2 inch air pipe is 
high, and long lines of larger pipe would be expensive. 

Air is supplied to wells at pressures from 50 to 100 pounds per 
square inch, and it is carried down into the well and released under 
water by different arrangements. A discharge pipe is placed inside 
the well casing, and in most lifts the air pipe is inside the discharge 
pipe. A new lift, for which certain improvements are claimed, has 
given satisfaction when pumping only one or two wells from one 
compressor. In this lift the air pipe passes down into the well out¬ 
side of the discharge pipe, and the air is released into a slightly en¬ 
larged section of the discharge pipe containing a specially designed 
foot piece. 

The lifting power of air is due to its expansion and displacement. 
In pumping against any head there is a certain ratio between the 
volume of air and the volume of water in the mixture that rises from 
the well that gives the highest efficiency. More air must be supplied 
to pump the same quantity of water if the head increases, and this 
requires greater pressure. The aim is to keep the velocity low and 
maintain a pressure just sufficient for the water to be raised with the 
air bubbles. The air should be mixed thoroughly with the water. 

For the best results air must be released at a depth in the water 
equal to about twice the lift. This limitation has made it necessary 
for some of the air plants to be abandoned when the water level re¬ 
ceded, because the wells were too shallow to allow the proper sub¬ 
mergence of the air pipe. The largest pumping plants in the locality 
have been air lifts of 100 to 200 horsepower, the compressors being in 
tandem with Corliss compound steam engines. Air lifts are best 
adapted for pumping several small wells reasonably close together 
and with certain limitations of lift. 

ADAPTABILITY OF THE SEVERAL TYPES OF PUMPS. 

Centrifugal pumps are best adapted for lifts not over 100 or 150 
feet, but may be used up to 200 feet if the well is very productive. 
The size of the well does not limit the size of a centrifugal pump 
that can be used as it does that of a deep-well pump of the plunger 
type. The makers of centrifugal pumps furnish tables showing the 
proper speed at which the pump should be run for the highest effi¬ 
ciency for certain lifts and streams of water raised. An increase in 
either the lift or rate at which the water is pumped requires a cor¬ 
responding increase in speed. From 900 to 1,100 revolutions per 
minute is the maximum speed at which most 4 and 5-inch pumps can 
be run without undue wear, belt slippage, and loss in efficiency. If 
a higher speed is required it is better to use a compound centrifugal 
34575°— Bull. 236—12-4 



50 


pump which will do the work at less speed. It is practical to use the 
single pump for heads up to 100 feet, but above 75 feet compound 
pumps are better. 

Deep-well pumps are best adapted for lifts over 100 or 150 feet, 
provided the well casing will admit a cylinder large enough to enable 
the well to be pumped to its full capacity. Some 26-inch wells are 
being drilled, but the largest cylinders on the market are only 18- 
inch. Such a cylinder with a 36-inch double stroke has a maximum 
capacity of about 100 miner’s inches. Deep-Avell pumps are more 
efficient than centrifugal pumps and cheaper to operate, but as a 
rule they are much more expensive to keep in repair. The plunger 
rods of deep-well pumps often break, and in a few extreme cases 
almost an entire summer has been spent in making repairs of this 
nature. Too high speed is often the cause of such breaks, and it is 
better to use a large cylinder and long stroke with a slow speed. 
Centrifugal pumps often run through several seasons with scarcely 
any repair, and they are not damaged as much by sand in the water 
as are the deep-well pumps. Deep-well pumps have taken the place 
of centrifugal pumps at many of the pumping plants in the northern 
part of the district, where the water level has lowered to depths of 
150 to 200 feet. The cost of deepening shafts after these depths 
have been reached is so great that it must be considered. Sometimes, 
however, it is not possible to change to a deep-well pump, because the 
well casing is so crooked that it does not permit the use of the 
plunger rods, and some wells have been abandoned for this reason. 
No deep-well pumps have been used to raise water for alfalfa. The 
highest lift for which they are used is about 400 feet, at the Mont 
Antonio pumping plant near Claremont. 

The triplex pump, although one of the most efficient types for forc¬ 
ing clean water to considerable heights above the ground, is not 
suited for pumping from deep wells. 

POWER USED FOR PUMPING. 

Steam was the first power used for pumping, both for the large air 
lifts and for driving the centrifugal pumps then used altogether at 
the small plants. The drift has been gradually away from steam 
power for the small plants, and the engines have been replaced by 
gasoline engines or electric motors, which have proven to be better 
adapted to smaller plants. Only five or six steam engines are now 
operated in addition to those at air plants, and those in use are at 
plants of large capacity. The steam engines used at air plants are 
combined with the compressor as one piece of machinery. The air 
• lifts of several companies have recently been replaced with single 
pumps and electric or gasoline power. The fuel used for steam 

[Bull. 236] 


51 


power is crude oil, costing about 1J cents per gallon. Steam power, 
if used at all in the future, probably will be used only for plants of 
100 horsepower or more, running continuously for long periods. 
Steam engines require constant attendance, which is one of the princi¬ 
pal objections to their use. Plants of the type referred to are used 
principally by large companies and are installed by competent engi¬ 
neers. 

In the design or arrangement of plants of less than 50 horsepower, 
engineering advice is rarely sought. Pumps are installed by their 
makers, gasoline engines by their selling agents, and electric motors 
by the companies supplying power. The question of the best kind 
of power to use in the small plant is one that depends on several 
things, and each special case must be considered by itself. At the 
usual prices of gasoline and electric power, the gasoline engine is the 
cheaper power, providing there is no cost for attendance, but if it is 
necessary to employ an attendant at the usual wage of 25 cents per 
hour, electric power is the cheaper. Gasoline engines very often can 
be made to run with but very little attendance, and where they are 
owned by individual orchardists or ranchers it is not usual to employ 
an engineer, as the owner or irrigator finds time to visit the engine 
occasionally while irrigating the orchard or alfalfa. The engines 
must be oiled at least every six hours, and, as a rule, engines which 
receive as little care as this need expensive repairs or soon wear out. 
It is difficult to estimate the cost of attendance in such cases. It is 
better for the engines run without constant attention to be slightly 
underloaded, so that they will miss an explosion occasionally. The 
underloading, however, is more often carried to such an extreme that 
a marked loss in efficiency is the result. Although it is unwise to run 
gasoline engines at too high a speed, a common practice, which lowers 
their efficiency, is to run them as much as 10 to 20 revolutions per 
minute under the normal or best speed. At the plants of the small 
water companies, where attendants are employed, the engines are of 
the higher speed type. They are more often fully loaded, but even 
with underloading they are governed by regulating the quantity of 
fuel in each charge instead of by cutting out explosions. This gives 
them a more uniform speed. When the mechanical tests were made 
in 1905, No. 1 engine distillate cost 6| cents, and No. 2 distillate 5J 
cents, per gallon. The prices have now advanced to 9 and 8 cents per 
gallon, respectively. 

Several gasoline engines with generators are operating on the inter¬ 
mediate grades of fuel oils known as stove distillates. The gen¬ 
erators utilize the heat of the engine exhaust in volatilizing the oil 
admitted to the engine. The temperature maintained in the gen¬ 
erator depends upon the kind of oil used. At the plant of the 

[Bull. 236] 


52 


Artesian Belt Water Company the fuel is oil, about 32 Baume, 
costing 4| cents per gallon, delivered at the plant. Five gallons of 
stove distillate is equivalent to about 4 gallons of engine distillate. 
With the plant in operation five or six months each year, the residue 
left in the engine makes it necessary to replace the cjdinder rings each 
year and to rebore the cylinder or get a new one every two years. 
Even allowing for these expenses, there is a saving over the cost of 
operation on engine distillate. 

Oil engines designed to use the lower grades of crude oil directly, 
by vaporizing the fuel at its entrance to the cylinder by the engine’s 
own heat, are on the market. These have been used successfully for 
some time with eastern paraffine base oils : but until quite recently no 
engines of this type were used in southern California. They had 
been greatly improved, however, in the last few years and are now 
being installed in southern California and operated, using asphaltum 
base oils. The first of these engines to be installed was one of 180 
horsepower at the Orange Cove Tract plant in San Fernando 
Valley. 

It uses 19 gravity oil which costs 2f cents per gallon. This engine 
gave satisfaction during its trial and was accepted after being run 
only a part of one season. The real test of such an engine, however, 
should be its condition after two years’ service. The first cost of 
engines of this type is high, being about $100 per horsepower, but 
if they prove a success they will be a cheap form of power. A 250- 
horsepower engine of this type is being installed at Corona. 

It is probable that producer gas from crude oil will be used for 
power to some extent in the future at pumping plants of large 
capacity, but it is doubtful if its use will become very general in this 
section, where most of the pumping plants are small, as the first 
cost of gas producers is high for small plants, and few producers are 
made in sizes of less than 150 horsepower. Gas produced from 
crude oil for use in the gas engine is a very cheap power, although the 
producers for oil are not so surely past the experimental stage in 
their development as are those for coal and other fuels. The chief 
trouble has been to wash or scrub the gas of coal tar, asphaltum, and 
other impurities, which must not be carried into the cylinder of an 
engine. It is now claimed for the improved producers that when 
operated properly the gas is practically free from coal tar and 
asphaltum, leaving only lampblack to be removed by washing. Tests 
show that the producers have an efficiency of about 75 per cent and 
that the systems furnish 6 to 7 brake horsepower per hour per 
gallon of crude oil. The gas produced is fixed. Its heating value 

[Bull. 236] 


53 


varies from 150 to 200 British thermal units per cubic foot for the 
grades of oil ordinarily used. 

The Glendora Mutual Water Company has installed a gas-pro¬ 
ducer plant in San Dimas Wash. It consists of a 150-horsepower 
producer and a 114-horsepower, vertical, 3-cylinder, 4-cycle engine 
with a speed of 250 revolutions per minute. Crude oil, 12 to 20 
Baume scale., is used for fuel and costs 2 cents per gallon. The pro¬ 
ducer is equipped with a centrifugal washer for the purpose of 
cleansing the gas of impurities. There is also a small gas holder for 
regulating the supply to the engine and for use while the producer 
is being burnt out. The auxiliaries of the plant consist of a small 
geared pump for pumping the fuel oil; a small air blower worked 
up to a pressure of 1 pound per square inch for the purpose of aid¬ 
ing combustion; two small centrifugal pumps, one for circulating the 
water in the centrifugal washer and the other to pump the water 
used to cool the engine; an air compressor, together with storage 
tanks for use in starting the large engine; and a 6-horsepower gaso¬ 
line engine for operating the auxiliaries when the plant is being 
started. The engine is belted to a turbine pump which delivers 70 
miners inches, the head under which it is operated being 212 feet. 
It is intended that the producer shall also supply another engine. 

The cost of the producer engine and auxiliaries was $10,000, and 
the total cost of the plant, including the well, pump, and the build¬ 
ing, was $21,600. Three men are required to operate the plant. 

This plant has been in use only a few months^ but it has worked 
w r ell and the indications are that it will work successfully and that 
there will not be the numerous delays which made the operation of 
some of the first plants of this type so costly. 

The cost of power with such a plant, including attendance and all 
fixed charges, is about 1 cent per horsepower hour and is little less than 
the price of electric power, including attendance and fixed charges, 
paid by some of the water companies of southern California which 
operate ten or a dozen pumping plants. Twelve per cent should cover 
the depreciation for such a plant. The producers need to be rebricked 
every few years where they are used continuously during the irriga¬ 
tion season. There being little probability that the price of oil will 
be reduced in the near future, and as the cost of electric power is 
expected to become lower with increased competition, water com¬ 
panies have not been in haste to replace present installations with 
new systems until the latter are shown by thorough test to be perfect. 

While electric power for pumping is more expensive than gasoline, 
induction motors have the advantage of requiring less attention than 
[Bull. 236] 


54 


any other kind of power machinery, and of running with less repair 
and with a little higher efficiency. They show also less loss in efficiency 
when underloaded and are devoid of adjustments, as in the gasoline 
engine, which must be properly made to obtain the best results. 
These features, together with the ease with which they are started, 
make them the most convenient kind of power. Some of the water 
companies pump very cheaply with electric power by running several 
pumps, thus enabling them to get a low rate and to have all the plants 
under the care of one attendant. An arrangement has been made 
through the medium of a power company by which one man cares for 
several small plants under different ownership at a cost of about 
$10 per month for each. The attention given motors by individual 
farmers is so little as hardly to be considered. 

The alternating current and motors wound for 60 cycles (7,200 
alternations per minute) are used. The current furnished by power 
companies is generated by water power in mountain canyons from 
whence it is transmitted long distances. The circuit is three-phase 
and the voltage is reduced at each plant to 440 or 550 volts. The 
rates charged vary with the quantity used, but the average is about 
2 cents per kilowatt hour, or 1J cents per horsepower hour. One of 
the companies running several pumps gets a rate of If cents per 
kilowatt hour. At one plant, which supplies water to a few acres 
of oranges only, a rate of 3 cents per kilowatt hour is paid for nine 
months, with a minimum charge of $15 for the other three months. 
This plant uses power at the rate of about 10 kilowatts per hour. 
A rate of 1 cent per horsepower hour, or 1J cents per kilowatt hour, 
has been offered, provided a certain number of customers will use 
the power only during the night, at which time there is a surplus. 
In order to accept the offer, the users either would need small reser¬ 
voirs in which to store the water pumped or would be compelled to 
irrigate altogether at night. In 1905 a proposal was considered by 
the Pomona and Claremont farmers’ clubs to construct a cooperative 
central power plant from which electric power was to be distributed 
over the entire district for pumping. A joint committee was ap¬ 
pointed to investigate and report on the possibilities, but it was 
difficult to bring the diversified interests into unison and nothing 
further was accomplished. One of the difficulties would be to dispose 
of the engines now used without loss to their owners. 

Contrary to general belief, the cost of fuel is not the greatest ex¬ 
pense of pumping. The fuel cost usually is no more than one-fourth 
of the total, including interest, taxes, depreciation, repairs, and at¬ 
tendance, This will be discussed more fully under cost of irrigation. 
The tests made in 1905 show that for plants of 10 to 100 horsepower 

[Bull. 236] 


55 


the cost of gasoline and electric power for pumping w T ater per foot 
acre-foot (an acre-foot raised 1 foot) is as follows: 


Gasoline—centrifugal plants_$0. 016 to $0. 074 

Gasoline—deep-well plants_ . 015 to . 059 

Electric—centrifugal plants_ . 047 to . 110 

Electric—deep-well plants_ .033 to .070 


The wide variation in these figures indicates the great difference in 
the service of pumping plants. 

In orchard sections, where cobbles and bowlders are available, 
pumping plant buildings that do not detract from the surrounding 
landscape have been constructed of them. Galvanized corrugated 
iron serves as a durable material for coverings in places more remote 
from residential locations. Permanent derricks are built over the 
wells, so that pumps, frames, piping, cylinders, or rods can be raised 
or lowered conveniently. Belt centers usually are 25 feet apart, and 
the belt pulleys are large so that the weight of the belt is sufficient 
to prevent excessive slipping and at the same time the pull on the 
bearings is not so great as with a short, tightly stretched belt. Centrif¬ 
ugal pumps that need priming are provided at the top of the shaft 
with a small hand pump connected with the large pump casing by a 
small pipe. With such an arrangement a vacuum can be produced 
in the centrifugal pump casing. A check valve is placed in the dis¬ 
charge pipe above the pump and a foot valve is unnecessary. At some 
of the electric plants which are not watched constantly, automatic 
switch pullers are used which shut off the electric current if by acci¬ 
dent the pump ceases to raise the water. At some of the gasoline 
plants a float in the weir box is connected by a wire to the electric 
igniter of the engine, so that the latter fails to work if the water falls, 
thus preventing the racing of an unloaded engine. Another safety 
arrangement is a bell alarm, which warns the irrigator of any acci¬ 
dent that may stop the discharge of the pump. Large gasoline en¬ 
gines are equipped with an appliance for starting by compressed air. 
Gasoline tanks are buried outside the buildings. A typical pumping 
plant is shown in Plate II, figure 2. 

METHODS OF DISTRIBUTING WATER. 

The distribution of water has reached high efficiency, and in the 
prevention of losses from seepage and evaporation in the conveyance 
of water from its source to its point of use the system is unsurpassed. 
Ordinary ditches were first used, but much of the water was lost in 
the porous, gravelly soils. The loss by evaporation, although small 
in comparison to seepage, was material in such a warm and dry cli¬ 
mate. In many cases the greater part of the water failed to go 

[Bull. 236] 







56 


where it was intended to go. With the small supply of water avail¬ 
able, and its great value, measures were taken very soon to make the 
channels water-tight, and now practically all the water used at 
Pomona is piped underground and is not seen from its source to the 
head of the furrow in the orchard or to the exact point of applica¬ 
tion in an alfalfa field. In some of the fruit districts, where more 
gravity water is used, the larger streams are carried in open cement- 
lined ditches, but at Pomona the main channels as well as the smaller 
lateral lines are closed, so that both seepage and evaporation are 
reduced to a minimum. 

CONCRETE PIPE. 

Iron pipe is used for carrying water in some places, but as a rule 
this is where it is under pressure of a head of over 10 or 12 feet. 
For lines under less pressure, or no pressure at all, as many of them* 
are, concrete pipe is used principally, its cheapness and durability 
when properly made making it a most desirable conduit. The first 
concrete pipe laid at Pomona, although not the first in southern 
California, was the Loop and Meserve line, which was completed in 
1885 from the division point at the mouth of San Antonio Canyon 
to Claremont in order to bring canyon water down to the orchard 
district. Every drop of water would have been lost had an attempt 
been made to carry it in an open, unlined ditch. It is still the largest 
pipe line in the district, being 16 inches in diameter from the canjmn 
to the San Bernardino base line, a distance of 4 miles, and 14 inches 
in diameter for the remainder of the distance. It is in fine condition 
and has gained in thickness in places by a lime deposit. It was 
intended to be constructed of a mixture of 1 part cement to 4 parts 
sand and gravel, which is the mixture used in this section unless 
another is specially ordered. 

Considerable pipe in southern California has been found deficient, 
but in almost every case the trouble can be traced to improper mak¬ 
ing. Unclean sand and not impure cement is known to be the more 
common cause of defective pipe. Foreign, eastern, and California 
cements are all used in the construction of pipe, and recently there 
has been but little complaint of any of these. The sand and gravel 
used by the pipe makers is procured from the washes, that at Pomona 
being principally from San Antonio Wash, only 2 miles distant. 
Pipe makers are often careless in the selection of sand, especially 
when using fine grades, in which it is more difficult to detect the 
impurities. The dirt and impurities in the concrete apparently dis¬ 
integrate and are washed out, and the weakened pipe can not 
withstand the force of the roots of trees growing along the lines. 

[Bull. 236] 


57 

Tree roots, however, can not penetrate pipe that is properly made 
and laid. 

The Irrigation Company of Pomona and the Del Monte Irrigation 
Company are using vitrified pipe for their mains in preference to 
cement pipe, regardless of the higher cost, because much of the latter 
has been unsatisfactory. H. J. Nichols, manager of the companies 
stated, however, that if he could be assured that proper materials 
were used in the construction of concrete pipe he would have no hesi¬ 
tation in using it. The Irrigation Company of Pomona relaid 600 
feet of 8-inch concrete pipe with vitrified pipe in 1907. The concrete 
pipe was 1 to 4 mixture, and was laid in 1888. About 7 per cent of the 
joints were perfectly sound, the rest having disintegrated, although 
they were all made at the same time. The Del Monte Irrigation Com¬ 
pany replaced a half mile of 8-inch concrete pipe, which had been 
damaged by tree roots, with vitrified pipe in 1908. A drain of 8-inch 
concrete pipe at the end of San Jose Hills, which had been rejected 
for irrigation purposes, was used for eighteen years before it became 
useless. It was replaced with vitrified pipe in 1908. On the Chino 
rancho, where some of the low-lying damp land has been drained, vitri¬ 
fied pipe has been used, as it was feared that the alkali would destroy 
concrete pipe. Although much trouble has been experienced, due, it 
is believed, to the careless selection of material, probably the greater 
part of the concrete pipe in use is in excellent condition. Pipe that 
has been used for a long time often is found upon inspection to be 
harder than when laid. An 8-inch line laid in black adobe soil in 
1900 was broken in 1908 by being run over with a heavily loaded 
wagon, and was found to be in perfect condition. There is nothing 
in either pure cement or pure sand to decay, and in time it hardens 
like rock, the pores fill with silt, after which it holds water better than 
when new. A mixture of 1 to 4 is sufficient, but occasionally pipe is 
ordered of 1 to 3 mixture to insure greater strength. Concrete pipe 
of the same thickness as vitrified pipe, but having the same amount of 
cement per linear foot as the thicker pipe, has been made at Los 
Angeles, Anaheim, and other points, and gives a much stronger mix¬ 
ture. The pipe has been used with much success, and will no doubt 
be more generally used. The city of Riverside is using concrete pipe 
in preference to the vitrified for sewage purposes. Care is taken to 
select and test the material used in the construction of the pipe, which 
is of 1 to 4 mixture. Much trouble has been experienced there in 
getting good vitrified pipe, much of which, while apparently perfect 
in glaze and burning, has been found defective. It “ quarter checks,” 
or cracks longitudinally on the outer face, and some of it softens with 
age, so that holes for connections can be made with single blows of a 

[Bull. 236] 


58 


sledge. The cost of cement pipe of 1 to 4 mixture at Pomona is as 
follows: 

Cost of cement pipe at Pomona, Cal. 


Size. 

Cost per 
foot. 

Cost per 
foot laid. 

Inches. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

8 

12* 

17 

10 

16 

22 

12 

22 

32 

16 

35 

50 


The 1 to 4 mixture used is 19 per cent water and is called a dry mix¬ 
ture, as the forms can be removed immediately after molding. The 



pipe is more porous than wet mixture pipe, but this is overcome to 
some extent by a cement wash applied to the inside during the curing. 

Eight and 10-inch pipe of 1 to 3 mixture costs about 3 cents per 
foot more than the same sizes made of 1 to 4 mixture. Cement costs 
$2.50 per barrel. 

Vitrified clay pipe in the 8, 10, and 12 inch sizes costs 16, 24, and 
30 cents per foot, respectively, in the same locality. 

Eight-inch cement pipe is made 1J inches thick and the 10-inch 
size 1J inches thick. In the orchard sections 10-inch pipe is used for 
the main distributing lines of companies and 8-inch pipe for the pri¬ 
vate lines and head lines. Ten or 12-inch pipe lines are laid from 
private pumping plants for irrigating alfalfa, the size depending on 
the stream pumped and the fall. 

[Bull. 236] 














































































U. S. Dept, of Agr., Bui. 236, Office Expt. Stations. Irrigation Investigations. PLATE III. 




Fig. 1.—Laying Concrete Pipe. Fig. 2.—Joining Stands to Pipe. 






























































































59 


Pipe is laid with the top 1 foot or more beneath the surface. The 
joints are cemented together with a trowel, a short piece of galva- 
nized-iron pipe being placed on the inside as a mold during the process. 
Plate III, figures 1 and 2, illustrates the manner of laying the pipe 
and connecting stands. The weakest point in the ordinary pipe line 
is at the joints, and if the pipe is disturbed after being laid leaks 
occur sometimes at these points. A machine for molding and laying 
continuous cement pipe has been used at Riverside, but its use is not 
general. 

All pipe-line structures, such as division or measuring boxes, are 
of either concrete or cobble walls plastered with cement. A division 


SL/DE GATE 


PRESSURE GATE 



Fig. 4.—Cast-iron gates for concrete pipe lines and reservoirs. 


is often made by the lines branching off from a standpipe called a 
“ turnout ” and formed by one or more sections of concrete pipe rest¬ 
ing on a concrete floor. A similar standpipe containing a gate is 
placed in an orchard or field head line to form a check. These are 
called “ basins.” Sixteen-inch basins are used on 8 and 10 inch lines. 
Figure 3 shows one of these in a pipe line. 

The controlling gates used in all pipe-line structures, including 
turn-outs and basins, are of cast iron. The most common type and 
the simplest and cheapest of such gates is shown in figure 4. The 
8-inch size costs $1.05 and the 10-inch size $1.60 at the foundry, and 
the handle from 25 to 75 cents additional, depending on its length. 
The average cost of turn-outs or basins, including one of these iron 
gates, is from $4.50 to $5. These gates are nearly water tight, as 
[Bull. 236] 














































































60 


the parts of the gate and gate frame which come into contact are 
milled so that they fit very close together. The gate must slide 
loosely in the grooves of the frame, but by being placed on the up¬ 
stream side of an opening the pressure of the water holds the gate 
against the frame when closed. Figure 4 also shows another form of 
gate which is more expensive and is used only when it is desired 
to prevent all leakage. It is constructed so that after the gate has 
been lowered into position a twisting of the handle brings pressure 
on the back of the gate, which, being provided with a rubber gasket, 
can be made perfectly water tight. This gate costs $3.25 for the 
8-inch size, $4 for the 10-inch, $5.30 for the 12-inch, and $9.50 for 
the 16-inch. There are several kinds of water-tight or pressure gates, 
but they differ only in their details. All devices for the control 
of water are manufactured locally. 

ROTATION. 

The frequency of irrigation of orchards through the foothill belt 
is so uniform and so complete are the distributing lines of pipe and 
appliances for the perfect control of the water that companies serv¬ 
ing orchards alone deliver water to their stockholders by rotation, 
according to schedules which are often prepared in advance for an 
entire season of six or seven months. If a stockholder’s land is 
entitled to the equivalent of a continuous flow of a certain number 
of miner’s inches the flow for each month is cumulated into a water 
run. The number of monthly runs depends on the length of the dry 
season. The water is delivered in heads of from 25 to 60 miner’s 
inches, the size being governed to some extent by the supply and 
the size of the holdings irrigated. Usually the entire head is used 
by each stockholder for a period of time proportional to the amount 
of stock he owns. The schedule of rotation is either prepared by 
the board pf directors, the superintendent, or the zanjero. There is 
usually a complete rotation about every thirty days, so that each 
orchard receives water at thirty-day intervals. It is customary to 
skip the 31st day of a month in the regular schedule and to reserve 
these for emergencies. In case of short delays, due to breaks in 
pumping machinery or pipe lines, this gives opportunity to catch 
up with the schedule. It also simplifies the schedule itself, so that 
each stockholder receives the water during the same hours of the 
same day every month of the season. For example, 4^ acres of 
oranges was irrigated with 42J shares in the Orange Grove Tract 
Water Company, and the owner was entitled to use the water from 
4 p. m. on the 15th to 7 a. m. on the 16th of each month during a 
season. If an orchardist is not ready for the water when his time 
comes, after due notice has been given him, he is skipped and the 
[Bull. 230] 


61 


water he might have had can not be added to his quota in a future 
month. More adequate storage facilities would be required to hold 
much water in reserve. Written notice is given the user at the begin¬ 
ning of the season of the time he is to use the water each month 
or it is given him a few days in advance of each irrigation, so that 
he may have time to furrow his orchard and be ready for the water. 

The Del Monte Irrigation Company serves four heads, which were 
originally intended to be 52J miner’s inches each, but at times they 
have been allowed to fall as low as 40 miner’s inches. The water is 
measured over a weir at the head of each lateral, and, as only one 
head is run in a lateral, it is unnecessary to measure the water at 
each point of delivery. The rotation usually begins at the upper 
end of the line and proceeds in succession to the lower end. Each 
run is 0.12 hour per share, so that 10 acres receive the water for 12 
hours, provided the original 10 shares per acre are used. The sched¬ 
ule month is 26^ days in this company. 

The Palomares Irrigation Company delivers one head of 60 miner’s 
inches in accordance with a rotation schedule prepared in advance 
for the season. 

The San Dimas Irrigation Company makes a schedule at the be¬ 
ginning of the season, and there is a complete rotation in thirty days. 
Each user determines the head to be delivered to him, but it must be 
such as will give him his proper allotment with a run of either twelve 
or twenty-four hours. The water is measured over a weir at each 
delivery. This company makes no attempt to serve lands along a 
pipe line in regular succession as regards location. 

The La Yerne Land and Water Company delivers one head of 50 
miner’s inches, and each orchard receives water about once every five 
weeks. The head is run 2^ hours per share, and most of the members 
use one share per acre. Some purchased extra shares when the com¬ 
pany was first organized but later found they did not need them. 
The company sells no water to nonmembers, but any of the stockhold¬ 
ers who are entitled to use more than they desire pool the surplus 
water and place it in the hands of the zanjero for sale and delivery. 
This may be sold either to members or nonmembers, the charge being 
3 cents per miner’s inch per hour, while the regular charge which the 
company makes to its stockholders is only 1^ cents per miner’s inch 
per hour. 

The Irrigation Company of Pomona has been unable to deliver 
water by rotation because of the great diversity of crops irrigated, 
which include alfalfa, deciduous and small fruits, as well as citrus 
fruits. The irrigation of all these, except the citrus fruits, is very 
irregular. Stockholders may leave orders with the secretary not 
earlier than the twentieth day of the month for water to be used for 
the next calendar month, and preference of date for irrigation is in 
t Bull. 236] 


62 


the order that these are made. Each user may have one-half the 
water to which his stock entitles him in the daytime. If he has a day 
run one month, he must take a night run the next when using his 
full quota, but as many do not use all the water to which their stock 
entitles them, they are able to do all their irrigating in the daytime. 
The head is fixed and the hours are in proportion to the stock owned. 
Orders are taken in triplicate by the secretary—one for himself, one 
for the zanjeros, and one for the user. The secretary has a large 
sheet on which are ruled spaces, representing time units or hours for 
the month. The spaces are marked off as the orders are received, 
and the names of those making the order written in so it shows at a 
glance what dates are open. 

The distribution and delivery of water is cheap. Zanjeros use 
automobiles, motorcycles, or bic 3 ^cles, which are, as a rule, furnished 
by themselves. Companies serving over 3,000 acres employ two 
zanjeros, while those serving less require only one. While the acre¬ 
age served by one man is small, he must make a great many deliveries 
on account of the small holdings, but the completeness of the distrib¬ 
uting systems and the speedy method of conveyance make this easy. 
Delivery boxes or turn-outs are provided with covers and may be 
locked. Some small companies dispense with the services of a zan¬ 
jero altogether, and in that case each member is informed as to what 
the schedule is and the head of water is sent down the main pipe line 
by the engineer at the pumping plant and passed from one to another. 
The Irrigation Company of Pomona pays its zanjero $65 a month 
for seven months and $30 for the remaining five months. He uses an 
automobile and only a part of his time is required. The Del Monte 
Irrigation Company pays its zanjero $50 per month for the entire 
year. Smaller companies pay at the same rate, but employ zanjeros 
only through the irrigation season, leaving the zanjeros much time 
for other duties while employed. The zanjero is the highest-salaried 
man, as a rule, and, although not an executive officer, is often de¬ 
pended upon to take entire charge of the water delivery. The larger 
companies have a manager or superintendent, but, like the secretary, 
he devotes only a portion of his time to company business, and his 
compensation is small. 

RESERVOIRS. 

Some companies, notably the Irrigation Company of Pomona, the 
Kingsley Tract Water Company, and the Chino Water Company, 
have concrete reservoirs as a part of their distributing systems. 
These add much to their efficiency, as water may be stored when not 
needed and drawn out later to aid in keeping a constant head. The 
reservoir of the Irrigation Company of Pomona has a capacity of 

[Bull. 236] 



63 


2,000,000 gallons and is a little above the middle of the system. This 
is a good situation for a reservoir of this kind, especially for a com¬ 
pany that does not deliver by rotation, as it permits the constant run¬ 
ning of the pumping plant both day and night, and the utilization of 
all the artesian water when the wells are flowing. Water unused 
through the night is stored in the reservoir and run out the following 
day to supply the customers below the reservoir, while those above 
use the water that comes directly from the wells. There are over 50 
reservoirs in this section which are used with private pumping plants. 

It is necessary in many of the orchards in this locality to remove 
large quantities of cobbles for the planting of the trees, and where 
they are near at hand the walls of reservoirs are constructed cheaply 
by being built up with cobbles laid in cement mortar or lime mortar. 
The floors are of concrete, and both floors and walls are lined with a 



Fig. 5.—Design of concrete reservoir. 


thin sheet of cement mortar. If rock must be hauled some distance, 
and if gravel is near by, the walls are constructed as cheaply of con¬ 
crete. For the larger reservoirs concrete walls are reinforced, 
heavily at the bottom and gradually lighter above, but for sizes not 
over 100 feet in diameter and 8 feet deep reinforcing is not common. 
The inner face of a wall is made vertical, while the outside face is 
given a batter. The floor need not be placed below the natural sur¬ 
face of the ground, but much strength is added if this is done. Earth 
is banked up against the outer face of the wall and tamped or pud¬ 
dled to give it stability, and the earth on which the floor is to rest is 
tamped. The diameters of reservoirs range from 50 to 200 feet and 
the depths from G to 12 feet. 

The plan for a good reservoir for use with a 10-acre orchard is 
illustrated in figure 5. It is 100 feet in diameter, 8 feet deep, and 

[Bull. 236J 





































64 


holds approximately 450,000 gallons, or 1.38 acre-feet. This is suffi¬ 
cient to cover a 10-acre orchard to a depth of 1.7 inches. The wall 
is of concrete and tapers from a thickness of 30 inches at the bottom 
to 14 inches at the top. The floor is 6 inches thick and the entire 
basin is lined with cement plaster. The cost of such a reservoir is 
about $1,500 including the iron gate. If the wall was built of 
cobbles it would be given a width of 36 to 48 inches at the base and 
20 inches at the top. If the outlet pipe is to be under a head of 
over 12 feet it should be of iron. 

Small reservoirs are very useful in connection with private pump¬ 
ing plants for orchard irrigation, especially where the stream pro¬ 
duced is too small for an economical irrigating head. The pump 
may be run night and day, while the orchard is irrigated only through 
the day. The water pumped at night is stored in the reservoir and 
drawn out the following day to double the head. The reservoir may 
be filled in advance*and drawn on to supplement the discharge of the 
pump for a short irrigation. Many of the pumping plants near the 
foothills deliver 15 to 30 miner’s inches only. Larger heads may be 
used to better advantage, especially in the porous soils of these 
localities. A pumping plant discharging 25 miner’s inches would 
fill the reservoir described above in thirty-three hours. Plate IV, 
figure 1, shows another reservoir with pumping plant for orchard 
irrigation. 

Reservoir gates are the pressure iron gates manufactured for pipe¬ 
line structures and may be locked water-tight. There is an automatic 
gate in the outlet of the reservoir of the Irrigation Company of 
Pomona which delivers a constant stream under a changing head. 
It may be set to discharge a stream of any size. 

MEASUREMENT OF WATER. 

The miner’s inch as defined by statute in California is one-fortieth 
of a cubic foot per second, or the equivalent of 11.23 gallons per 
minute, is not used in southern California except in legal matters. 
The old miner’s inch of southern California, the value of which is 
one-fiftieth of a cubic foot per second, or 9 gallons per minute, is 
still retained as the unit of measurement. The cubic foot per second 
is almost unknown in the pumping districts. The miner’s inch has 
the disadvantage of not having a standard value, but its size is con¬ 
venient for such small streams as are measured where water is 
pumped. It is measured more often, however, over a weir than 
under pressure. 

At Pomona and San Dimas water is measured over weirs alto¬ 
gether. They are found at most of the private pumping plants 
pumping for orchards as well as for company plants, but are seldom 

[Bull. 236] 


U. S. Dept, of Agr., Bui. 236, Office Expt. Stations. Irrigation Invesfgations. 


Plate IV. 



Fig. 1.—Pumping Plant and Reservoir. 



Fig. 2.—Orchard Irrigation with Concrete Stands. 


































65 


seen at the private plants pumping for alfalfa. Here larger streams 
are pumped and water costs less. Water sold for orchards is charged 
for by the miner’s inch per hour and must be measured, but for 
alfalfa the charge is for the stream, the size being estimated. 

Weir boxes are of concrete or of brick covered with cement and are 
permanent. Galvanized iron is used for the weir plates. Through 
ignorance of hydraulic principles the details of construction are often 
not in keeping with the excellent materials used. The most common 
defect is that the weir plate is set in the middle of a 4 or 6 inch cross 
wall, the notch in the wall being but a little longer and deeper than 
the notch in the iron plate, so that the plate projects only 1 or 2 
inches, and the result is that the end and bottom contractions are 
insufficient. A better construction would be to fasten the weir plate 
against the upper face of the cross wall. The rectangular weir is 
nearly always used. They are usually too long rather than too short 
for the amount of water to be measured. It is common to find 
24-inch weirs for measuring streams of 20 miner’s inches, while 
lengths of 12 or 18 inches would enable the head to be read with more 
accuracy. A rectangular weir without end contractions is also used. 
It consists of a crest reaching entirely across the box, there being 
no end plates. An objection to this form of weir is that if the box 
be wide the weir is too long for the stream of water to be measured, 
while if the weir be short the narrow box increases in velocity of 
approach. The short weir boxes used require the insertion of screens 
to retard the velocity of the water as it is discharged from the pumps 
and to quiet the surface for a correct reading of the head, but this is 
too often overlooked. 

The Cippoletti weir, or one in which the sides have a slope of 1 
horizontal to 4 vertical, is not well known in this section. Farmers 
usually compute the discharge according to weir tables prepared by 
the local pump manufacturers. These tables give numbers which 
are used as multiples to determine the discharge in miner’s inches, 
with the length of the weir and the head as known quantities. They, 
however, are computed for the Cippoletti weirs, and are only ap¬ 
proximately correct for rectangular weirs. 

METHODS OF APPLYING WATER. 

IRRIGATION OE ORCHARDS. 

PREPARATION OF LAND. 

There is a great difference in the cost of clearing and grading 
orchard land for irrigation. The gravelly soils lying close to the 
foothills are desirable for citrus orchards, because the region is nearly 
34575°—Bull. 236—12-5 



66 


frostless and produces a fine quality of oranges, but they are the 
most costly to prepare for the setting out of the trees. The native 
brush is removed by hand, and many loads of bowlders and cobbles 
are often hauled from a 10-acre tract. After both brush and stone 
have been removed, there is often considerable grading to be done 
to fill swales and give the orchard an even slope. An expense of 
$100 per acre for the preparation of an irrigated orchard is not un¬ 
common, and it cost $250 per acre for one orchard above Claremont. 
Lower down on the slopes the preparation consists principally of the 
removal of the scant growth of brush and some plowing and grading. 
Most of the orchard land has been cleared and leveled for from $10 
to $50 per acre. After removing any stone or brush the land is 
plowed during the winter to turn under weeds or stubble in order 
that they may act as a fertilizer. It is disked or harrowed to pul¬ 
verize it, after which it may be surveyed and graded. Citrus trees 
are least disturbed if transplanted when they are dormant. The 
time usually selected is after the winter rainy season, when the tree 
is yet in the dormant stage and the soil is moist and warm. The 
last irrigation in the nursery may be shortly before the trees are 
removed. When balled stock is used, the earth around the roots of 
the young trees protects them from drying out when being changed 
from the nursery to the orchard. A stream of water is run along the 
row when planting to moisten the soil and settle it around the roots. 
Orange trees are spaced 20 to 24 feet apart, lemon trees about 24 feet, 
deciduous trees 24 to 30 feet, and English walnut trees 40 feet. 

Orange land without water costs $100 to $400 per acre, and the 
water rights from $100 to $600. It requires an additional outlay much 
greater than the cost of the land itself to bring an orchard into full 
bearing. The trees may begin to bear in the third year, and the fruit 
produced the fourth year may pay expenses, but there is rarely a 
profit until the crop of the fifth year, so that in addition to the 
initial cost the expenses for the first five years must be included. The 
cost for a 10-acre orchard, exclusive of interest, is represented by the 
following: 

Cost of bringing a 10-acre orchard to bearing age. 


10 acres of orange land__$2, 500 

Water right- 1, 300 

Preparing and grading land_ 300 

1,000 trees, at $1 each_ l, 000 

Planting trees, at 7^ cents each_ 75 

Irrigating system_ 175 

Irrigation and cultivation, 5 years_ 1, 500 

Taxes and incidentals, 5 years_ 250 

Fertilizer. 3 years_ 250 


Total-___ 7, 350 

LBull. 236] 













67 


To irrigate an orchard there should be an even division of the 
water between units of space, and the water should be applied so that 
it reaches the proper place in the soil to be retained until taken up 
by the roots of the trees. There have been many theories as to how 
these ends are best accomplished. Subirrigation would seem to have 
merits, but the difficulty has been to get a system of underground 
pipes with enough openings and of a size to admit a sufficient quan¬ 
tity of water to the soil without the openings being eventually filled 
up by the extension of tree roots in their natural growth toward the 
moisture in the undrained pipes. A few systems have been devised, 
one of which was put in operation near Claremont, by which the 
openings in the underground pipes could be controlled from the sur¬ 
face and need be open only while water was being supplied to the 
orchard. These openings were of necessity small, to keep the earth 
from falling into the pipes through them, and they did not allow 
enough water to enter the soil. To increase the number of small 
openings so as to reach all parts of the soil would require more than 
one pipe to the tree row. This would be too expensive, and the many 
valve stems for closing the openings would interfere with operations 
on the surface. As no system has yet been found practical, the meth¬ 
ods of applying water have been on the surface. The ideas of orchard- 
ists on the best methods of irrigation have changed greatly since the 
beginning of the citrus industry. The subject is one that has been 
given much thought by scientists and practical orchardists, and there 
never has been a unity of opinion, but it comes nearer being reached 
at present than at any time in the past. The successful growing of 
citrus fruit depends very largely upon proper irrigation, together 
with cultivation and other associated processes. 

THE BASIN, OR CHECK, METHOD. 

Fifteen years ago most of the orchards were irrigated by running 
water into basins formed around the trees by throwing up ridges 
with a ridger. What was known as single checking consisted in mak¬ 
ing ridges in both directions between the rows of trees, thus forming 
basins in the middle of each of which was a tree. This method was 
used in citrus orchards mostly, each basin being about 20 feet square. 
The head line usually was an open, unlined ditch along the high side 
of the orchard. Each basin had to border on a lateral ditch leading 
from the head ditch in order that all could be furnished with water, 
and it was necessary only to make one lateral to each two tiers of 
basins. These laterals were formed by making a double instead of a 
single ridge between the basins, and the water was turned into the 
basins on either side. The ridges when new were about 1 foot above 
the original surface of the ground. The borrowing of the earth to 
[Bull. 236] 


68 


make the ridges also left a ditch on each side. In traversing one set 
of ridges with another at right angles the first set was broken down 
at the crossings. The fills to close these breaks and complete the 
scheme were made with a jump scraper and finished with hand imple¬ 
ments. The ridges parallel with the head ditch were made first, so 
that the double ridge forming the supply ditch made in the other 
direction did not have to be crossed, and the work that had to be 
done with the jump scraper was lessened. 

When a head of water is being used for filling the basins it requires 
constant attention. The irrigator cuts the ditch bank with his shovel 
at the upper corner of each basin and leaves it open until sufficient 
water has entered. A metal tappoon is used to dam the head ditch 
and force the water into the lateral ditch, and another is placed 
in the lateral ditch just below the one or more openings cut into 
the basins. In irrigating the orchard the water is diverted from 
the head ditch into the first lateral and the basins on either side 
are filled in succession, beginning at the upper end, or the irrigator 
may work down one side and up the other. The water is then 
changed to the second lateral, and so on until the orchard is finished. 

Often, if walnut orchards were irrigated with single checking, the 
basins, on account of the wider spacing of the trees, would be too 
large for the slope unless the orchard were nearly level. In such a 
case double checking is used. In this system four basins occupy the 
same space as one in single checking, only one of the four inclosing a 
tree. The check systems and the implements for laying them out 
are more fully described in bulletins of this Department. 0 

Basin irrigation is in reality a modified form of flooding, the 
purpose of the basins being to give an approach to an even depth 
over the entire orchard. Enough water is run into the basins to give 
an average depth of several inches, it being much deeper in the 
depressions along the ridges than in the central portion beneath the 
limbs of the trees. This unevenness is, however, not an objection. 
In gravelly soils the water disappears in a few hours, but in adobe 
it is visible for a day or two. The disappearance of the water de¬ 
pends also on the rate of evaporation, for a large part is lost in this 
way. 

No fault can be found with the basin system as a means of divid¬ 
ing water between units of the surface, as it allows better control of 
the distribution than any other system. The work preparatory to 
receiving the water and that done in destroying the ridges after the 
run is completed is of minor consideration in the irrigation of 
10-acre orchards producing high values. The chief objection is that 
so little of the water reaches the proper place in the soil to be taken 

° U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 108; Farmers’ Buis. 116, 373, and 404. 

[Bull. 236] 



69 


up by the roots of the trees. Also, as the water disappears from the 
basins the surface is dried and baked by the hot sun before teams 
can be driven over it for its cultivation, and cracks open up and 
allow much of the moisture previously absorbed to be evaporated. 
The loss from the water surface in the basin and from the baking 
soil is great. With the surface flooded the air in the soil can not well 
give place to the water, and there is poor soil aeration. The system 
has practically been abandoned in citrus orchards in favor of furrow 
irrigation, although it is still used sometimes on very tough adobe, 
where it is claimed it is the only way to get sufficient moisture into 
the soil. In such places the waste is very great and large quantities 
of water are allowed to run into the basins. It is also used to some 
extent on deciduous and walnut orchards in heavy soils, but in the 
walnut orchards near the coast it is found to be less harmful to 
sandy than to clayey soils. 

FURROW METHOD. 

Furrow irrigation is now used almost exclusively in irrigating 
fruit trees. Furrows have long been used, but in recent years there 
has been a great change in this method of irrigation. The furrows 
are now made much deeper than formerly and farther apart, a less 
number being used to the tree row. One requisite for the success of 
furrow irrigation is the proper division of the water between fur¬ 
rows, and the most improved appliances for controlling the water 
are now used. 

APPLIANCES FOR CONTROLLING WATER. 

The first substitutes for the head ditches were board flumes. 
These were constructed of 1 by 12 inch boards, thus giving a flume 
with a cross section of a little less than 1 square foot. The flumes 
were raised slightly above the surface and auger holes bored in one 
side to allow the water to flow into the furrows, the flow being con¬ 
trolled by means of little gates of wood or galvanized iron. The 
alternate wetting and drying out of wooden flumes warped the boards 
and caused leaks, and at best their life was short. 

More permanent structures soon were sought, and concrete head 
flumes, or, better still, irrigating systems of concrete pipe, were in¬ 
stalled in all new works and replaced the wooden flumes as they wore 
out. Cement flumes sometimes have been damaged by the earth being 
washed from the lower side. They are used chiefly where water is 
obtained from large canals, while pipe systems are more common 
where most of the water is pumped. Small openings about 2 inches in 
diameter, controlled by galvanized-iron gates, supply the furrows. 

[Bull. 236] 


70 


Provision sometimes is made for the insertion of iron slides at places 
along the flume to check the water, while in other cases the same result 
is accomplished by merely placing a large bowlder or cobble in the 
flume. If the fall be unusually high, the flume is constructed with 
abrupt drops in its grade wherever necessary, each section of flume 
being kept nearly level. A good cement flume, with its fittings com¬ 
plete, costs 23 to 25 cents per linear foot. 

The superiority of pipes and stands over cement flumes was soon 
demonstrated and at present practically nothing but Stands are being 
installed. Many flumes, however, will be in use for years to come. 
Stands furnish the least possible obstruction on the surface. The 
head line for an orchard is of 8 and sometimes of 10 inch concrete 
pipe laid with its top not less than a foot below the surface. The only 
visible parts are the stands which protrude above the surface at the 
end of each tree row, where they do not interfere with the free culti¬ 
vation between the rows and along the upper side of the orchard. 
With a flume it requires hand labor to keep down the weeds along its 
its course. Figure 3, page 58, shows the details of the pipe system most 
commonly used. This system is also illustrated by Plate IV, figure 2. 
The stand consists of one length of 8-inch concrete pipe cemented in 
place on the pipe line. Water from the pipe line rises in the stand 
through the iron valve, and the latter may be set to maintain a slight 
head over the six openings above, through which the water flows 
into the furrows leading away from the stand. The openings are 2 
inches in diameter, and each is controlled by a small galvanized-iron 
gate, which, together with the valve below, allows perfect control over 
the water entering each furrow. The valve has a rubber gasket and 
is closed when not in use. Threaded parts are of brass and do not 
rust. In a variation of this system, used less now than formerly, 
the tops of the stands are permanently sealed with cement caps, the 
iron valve is dispensed with, and the little gates at the openings are 
on the outside instead of the inside, as in the open-top stand. The 
water then rises to the top of the stand and is confined under slight 
pressure except as it is allowed to flow from the openings. With such 
an arrangement it is more difficult to make an equal division of the 
irrigating head, for, if the pipe line is on a grade, the water is under 
a greater pressure at the lower than at the upper end, and it is un¬ 
satisfactory unless the pipe line is nearly level. In the open-top 
stand with a valve an equal head may be maintained over the open¬ 
ings of all the stands, and it is recommended, regardless of its higher 
cost, due principally to the valve. Close-top stands, complete, cost 
$1 each and open-top stands $1.75 each. If there is much fall, the 
pipe line is divided into several sections by an iron gate placed in a 
large stand called a basin. It is then possible to shut off one or more 

[Bull. 236] 


71 


series of stands at the lower end of the pipe line while the upper 
ones are being used, and prevent undue pressure on the lower parts 
of the line. 

1 arious other devices for the division of water between furrows 
have been tried. Some are efficient but too expensive, and others 
have objectionable features that prevented them coming into general 
use. The cement stand system is about as simple in construction and 
as cheap as it can be made to be convenient and give perfect control 
of the water, and the latter have been the chief considerations of the 
orchardists in making their selection. The cost of a system for a 10- 
acre orchard includes 650 feet of 8-inch pipe laid for 17 cents per 
foot, 32 open-top stands 20 feet apart at $1.75 each, and the cost of 
one turn out complete at $5, making a total of $171.50. 

ARRANGEMENT OF FURROWS. 

The old way of irrigating was to make from 6 to 12 furrows about 
3 inches deep to each tree row. Now furrows are made about 8 
inches deep, and the number and distance apart depends upon the 
soil, more being used in clayey than in sandy soils, unless the sandy 
soil is thin and underlaid with gravel. In some localities where they 
have red loams the present practice is to use four or six furrows to 
the tree row, but in this locality and others of the foothill belt where 
sandy and gravelly soils predominate two or four furrows are used 
to the row. Plate IY, figure 2, shows typical furrow irrigation 
for orchards at Pomona. Orchards are furrowed with plows attached 
to the frames of wheeled cultivators in place of the cultivator teeth. 
Several sizes of plows are used. Some of these have a spread of 10 
inches at the bottom, 15 inches at the top, and a height of 9 inches. 

Experiments conducted by this Office on the Arlington Heights 
groves at Riverside have thrown much light on the action of water 
in the soil in orchard irrigation.® In applying the results of these 
experiments it must be kept in mind that much of the soil at Pomona 
is looser in character than the soil where the experiments were made. 
It was found that the area wetted from a furrow decreased with the 
depth, so that contrary to the belief of many the greatest width of 
moist soil is at a level with the bottom of the furrow and not several 
feet below the furrow. If there is hardpan or other impervious 
stratum at a shallow depth the downward movement of the water 
is arrested and lateral percolation is more rapid and extensive. In 
one case where there was plow sole at a depth of 5 inches the moisture 
reached an average depth of only 12 inches in four days. Such a 
condition often causes a large area of the surface to show moisture 

a U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 203.. 


[Bull. 236] 




72 


when the moisture has scarcely reached the depth of the tree roots 
and is misleading. If the soil is uniform to a good depth the down¬ 
ward movement of the water being aided by gravity is more rapid 
than the lateral movement, but while the moisture may meet between 
furrows at their level there may yet be dry spaces between the moist 
areas directly underneath the furrows. 

It was found that with four straight furrows, spaced about 4 feet 
apart to a tree row, the moisture met between furrows in 12 hours in 
some cases and in 24 hours in others. It is quite evident that if it 
requires four furrows to moisten the space between tree rows under 
such circumstances that there are wide spaces between the trees in 
each tree row that do not receive moisture especially at the depth of 
the tree roots. With trees planted 22 feet apart this dry space may 
be 6 feet wide. Nothing is to be gained by supplying moisture to 
the soil directly around the base of the tree, but the lateral roots 
should branch out on all four sides of the tree alike, and those that 
lie between trees in a row should receive moisture as well as those 
that lie between the tree rows. On the more porous soils at Pomona 
two furrows to the tree row are sufficient, one on either side as close 
to the tree limbs as they can be made. The space between the rows 
of trees with such an arrangement is but little greater than the dis¬ 
tance between the two furrows on either side of each row. Where 
percolation is slow, four furrows to the row are used. It is rare that 
provision is made for irrigating an orchard alternately in two direc¬ 
tions, as this not only requires a greater outlay for the irrigating 
system but many orchards are not situated so that it is possible. A 
number of kinds of zigzag or cross furrows have been much used to 
give a more equal distribution of the water over the surface and to 
better reach the spaces on all sides of the trees than is possible with 
straight furrows. Another purpose of such furrows is to overcome 
the effect of high slopes, as some orchards have a fall of 150 feet per 
mile. The increased length of the furrows reduces the fall which, 
together with the changing direction, retards the velocity of the 
water. 

A means used to give the lower part of the orchard as much water 
as the upper part without wasting water at the same time from the 
lower ends of the furrows is to cross furrow the lower half, third, 
or fourth. The water then takes an indirect course in the lower part 
and the reduction in the size of the stream is counteracted by the 
greater absorption, due to the slower velocity and the increased 
wetted area of furrow. A common way of cross furrowing is illus¬ 
trated by figure 6. The furrows parallel to the head line, indicated by 
the dotted line, are made first and then crossed at right angles by the 
furrows running down the greatest slope. The scheme is finished by 

[Bull. 236] 


73 


making the necessary cuts and fills by hand or with an implement 
similar to the jump scraper. This leaves two straight furrows in 
the center which necessarily must have less water turned into them 
than is turned into the others. Each furrow must be independent of 
the others or the water will collect in certain ones. 

Limited hillside areas are terraced for orange orchards. Each 
terrace has one row of trees, and they are irrigated with furrows on 
the contour with the terraces. 



Fig. 6.—Plan for laying out zigzag furrows. 


PREVENTION OF LOSSES OF WATER APPLIED. 

The streams of water or heads used in irrigating are from 25 to 60 
miner’s inches in size. One-half miner’s inch may be run into a sin¬ 
gle furrow, but the amount depends on the soil. A large stream, 
sometimes 4 miner’s inches, must be used in sandy soil to prevent its 
all being absorbed at the upper end, while on tight soil a small stream 
must be used to prevent its running through too quickly and wasting 
away at the lower end, or if precautions are taken to prevent waste 
to keep the lower part of the orchard from receiving too much water. 
In beginning an irrigation a large stream is first turned into a fur¬ 
row and rushed to the lower end, after which, the furrow being 
[Bull. 236] 











































































































































74 

wetted, the stream is reduced to such a size as will give an even dis¬ 
tribution without waste. 

To irrigate an orchard the things to be considered include its size, 
the slope and character of the soil, the size of the head, and the dura¬ 
tion of the run. The number and kind of furrows to be used and the 
division of water between them must be arranged in proper relation 
for each case. Nature has helped by providing steep slopes in the 
loose soils near the mountains and flat slopes on the tight soil farther 
away. Orchards, as a rule, receive only a shallow depth of w 7 ater at 
one irrigation, for where a head of 40 miner’s inches is used for 24 
hours on 10 acres the depth applied is a little less than 2 inches. 

Location and dej)th of fwrow .—The greatest problem in orchard 
irrigation is to apply the water uniformly with the least loss. The 
evaporation of the water in the furrow is small, but a greater source 
of loss is the evaporation from the wet surface or furrow and soil 
after the water has been turned off and before the ground is dry 
enough for cultivation. Moisture will rise to the surface from 
depths of 2 or 3 feet by capillary attraction and evaporate into the 
atmosphere. The best way to overcome this loss is to apply the 
water well below the surface by the use of deep furrows and follow 
with deep and thorough cultivation as soon as the ground is dry 
enough to be worked. Irrigation with deep furrows puts the water 
where it is least exposed to the rays of the sun and where a greater 
portion may be utilized by the trees. If the irrigation is shallow, 
the moisture is so near the surface that a large portion of it may be 
lost before the ground can be cultivated. Shallow irrigation also 
trains the roots of the trees upward and they are soon reached by the 
drying out of the soil. Deep irrigation, on the other hand, trains 
the roots downward and they are better protected from drought and 
Dre not interfered with by deep cultivation. Observations have been 
made in one orchard near Claremont where two furrows about 8 
inches deep were used to the row. The soil was porous and the 
lateral percolation was so rapid that practically the entire subsoil 
was moistened in nine hours, while a large portion of the surface 
was still dry, it having been in a fine granular condition when the 
irrigation was begun. There is less wetted area exposed to evapora¬ 
tion if the moisture can be put below the surface layer in this way. 

It was thought at one time that it was necessary to apply the water 
close to the base of the tree, and low limbs touching the ground were 
not encouraged. The lateral roots of citrus trees, however, are much 
longer than the limbs, often reaching lengths of 15 or 20 feet, and 
consequently most of the many tiny roots which feed the trees with 
moisture are reached better by applying the water beyond the 
branches. The application of the water well away from the base 

[Bull. 236] 


75 

of the tree also develops the roots in that direction and produces a 
more extensive root system. 

It is possible for water to pass below all tree roots and be lost, 
especially in sandy and gravelly soils. The tap roots of orange trees 
are 4 to 10 feet in length and the most of the lateral roots are in the 
second or third foot of soil. The only way to be certain about what 
is actually taking place is to make an excavation or boring and de¬ 
termine by inspection or by tests the moisture contained in different 
places. 

Cultivation of the orchard .—The retention of the moisture is as 
important as the manner of application. The earlier the cultivation 
the less the danger of loss of moisture from a baking surface. Sandy 
soils may be cultivated much sooner than adobe soils, and there is 
a wider limitation of time for the good working of sandy soils. 
Heavy soil must be worked at just the right time, and at best is 
much more difficult to pulverize, for if too wet it is sticky and if too 
dry it breaks up in clods. Sandy soils may be cultivated sometimes 
the day following the irrigation, while on heavier soils a delay of 
two days longer may be necessary. Deep cultivation is recommended 
along with the application of water in deep furrows, except for 
shallow sandy soils underlaid with gravel. A granular mulch, 8 
inches thick, is much more effective in holding down the moisture 
than one only 3 or 4 inches thick. An early theory was that deep 
cultivation interfered with the roots of the trees, but cultivation to 
depths of 8 or 9 inches has not been found detrimental in deep soils, 
and if the cultivation is accompanied by deep irrigation the tree can 
not suffer from this cause. The depth at which the lateral roots of 
orange trees are found varies, as some stocks are deeper rooted than 
others, but few are above a depth of 10 inches unless the irrigations 
have been shallow. 

Some orchards have plow sole, a layer of soil hard and impervious 
to water just below the surface layer. This is not a natural condition, 
and as a rule it occurs where the irrigation and cultivation have 
been continuously shallow, and is more pronounced in the dry season. 
The hard layer is near enough to the surface to be baked by alternate 
wetting and drying, yet it is not broken up by the cultivation. It 
has been destroyed in some orchards by the use of a subsoiler reach¬ 
ing a depth of 20 inches, but in such a process there is danger of 
severing the main tree roots, and it is better to use the preventive— 
deep furrows and deep cultivation. 

The benefits of applying the water well below the surface and of 
cultivating to a good depth have been proved in the results achieved 
in many orchards. One young orchard of 80 acres, near Azusa, was 
kept in a thrifty condition for four years without irrigation by 

[Bull. 236] 



76 


keeping the surface soil in good condition by intensive cultivation. 
With an annual rainfall of 15 or 18 inches, most of which came in 
(he spring, it was necessary only to hold the moisture long enough 
to carry the trees through the summer. 

The results of experiments by this Office at Arlington Heights, 
Riverside, and at the old experiment station farm near Pomona 
have been very conclusive. 0 These tests were made by sinking large 
tanks containing representative soils in the ground. The tanks were 
arranged so that they could be raised and weighed at intervals, thus 
enabling the actual loss of moisture from the soils by evaporation to 
be determined accurately. One series of tests showed a great saving 
in deep furrows over shallow ones. Another series compared culti¬ 
vated and uncultivated soils, with a result very much in favor of 
cultivation. A similar comparison between mulches of different 
depths showed that the deeper the mulch the more effective it is. 
The downward movement of the water is no greater from deep than 
from shallow furrows, but the water from the former enters the soil 
at a lower jffane and must be raised a greater distance by capillarity 
before evaporation can take place, and consequently the loss by evap¬ 
oration is lessened. Deep furrows and good mulches reduce to the 
minimum the amount of moisture that rises to the surface. 

The practice in cultivating orchards varies somewhat. Some¬ 
times the first cultivation after an irrigation is made with a spring- 
tooth harrow before the soil has dried out to a sufficient depth to 
permit a deep cultivation with a stiff-tooth cultivator. This is a 
good implement for shallow cultivation and clearing out weeds, and 
may be used for loosening the ground for a distance of 2 or 8 feet 
under the tree branches, a thing that can not well be done with the 
wheeled or riding cultivator, and it does not entirely destroy the 
furrow. Later a more thorough cultivation is given with the wheeled 
cultivator having stiff teeth 1 to 2 inches wide. These teeth are run 
to depths of 7 or 8 inches and loosen up the soil without turning it 
over or exposing more moisture. This implement is furnished usu¬ 
ally with about 9 teeth, but more or less may be arranged in almost 
any position, thus making the implement a very useful one for 
several purposes. Sometimes small plows are fastened to the culti¬ 
vator frame in place of one or two of the teeth in such a position as 
to close in the furrows by throwing the earth back into them. 
Furrows should be broken up as soon as posable after the irriga¬ 
tion, as they are inclined to bake. The cultivation may be repeated 
one or more times, and in some cases the teeth are set still deeper 
for the later cultivations, and 4 horses used. The process of de¬ 
stroying furrows by cultivation is illustrated by Plate V, figure 1. 

°U. S. Dept Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 177. 


[Bull. 236J 





U. S. Dept, of Agr., Bui. 236, Office Expt. Stations. Irrigation Investigations. 


Plate V. 



Fig. 1 .—Destroying Furrows by Cultivation. 



Fig. 2.—Irrigating Alfalfa with Surface Pipe. 










77 


Orchards often are plowed to good depths in the winter and 
spring in order to loosen the soil and make it capable of absorbing 
as much of the rainfall as possible. The plowing usually is done 
transverse to the slope, so that the furrows will catch and hold the 
water. Some orchardists do not believe in plowing, but rely instead 
on the cultivator alone, and there are some well-cultivated orchards 
showing good results that have not been plowed for many years. 

Costly measures have been resorted to for improving the condi- 
tion of the soil of several orchards planted in tight adobe soil near 
San Dimas. The application of lime and gypsum is recommended 
sometimes, but in this case many wagonloads of sand were hauled 
from the wash, spread over the surface, and plowed in. On one 
orchard 4 to 6 cubic yards of sand was added for each tree, at a cost of 
25 cents per cubic yard, which is equivalent to an expense of $135 per 
acre. The effect has been to increase materially the moisture ab¬ 
sorbing and retaining qualities of a soil on which the use of stable 
manure and the growing of cover crops alone had but little effect. 

Cover crops .—Cover crops are grown in many orchards and in 
addition to the well-known properties of furnished plant food in the 
form of nitrates through the medium of soil bacteria, have much value 
in improving the capacity of most soils to take and hold water. These 
crops are the legumes and include vetches, peas, lupines, fenugreek, 
burr clover, etc. Vetches, however, are the most popular, because the 
crop is sure and gives a fair tonnage. They are also deep rooted and 
do not require a great quantity of water. The cowpea has been much 
growm in some localities. Cover crops are seeded early in September 
so that they will make a growth before cold weather begins. The 
orchards are irrigated before planting and often shallow furrows are 
made in the moist soil for future irrigations before the seed is sown. 
The crop is then irrigated as required until it rains or a full growth 
is made. The crop is plowed under, usually in February, so that it may 
be decayed by the spring rains. It is important that the crop be 
turned under when it is yet succulent, for if the plants are allowed to 
become fibrous they are a source of trouble by being dragged behind 
the cultivator teeth through the summer. Some growers first use the 
disk harrow to cut up the plants, after which they are plowed under. 
Others use the disk plow, disking in different directions at short 
intervals. 

Cover crops if grown for several seasons are beneficial to both sandy 
and clayey soils. The humus resulting from their decay makes sandy 
soils more retentive of the moisture supplied by irrigation without 
impairing good drainage. Clayey soils are made more porous and 
granular so that they are more easily worked and have less tendency 
to bake, their capacity to take and hold water is increased, and they 
are given aeration by the better ventilated condition and more free 
[Bull. 236] 


78 


movement of air and water. This is especially important, as fruit 
trees require a drained soil and will not thrive in a water-logged area. 
The growing of cover crops may be advantageous also where there 
has been trouble with hardpan or plowsole, provided the roots can 
penetrate the hard layer. It has been found in some places that they 
prevent washing by winter rains in orchards on steep slopes. 

IRRIGATION OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF TREES. 

CITRUS FRUITS. 

It is the general practice to irrigate citrus orchards about every 
thirty days, although at Riverside some orchards are irrigated every 
forty-five days with a correspondingly greater quantity of water at 
each irrigation. Some orchards under the Del Monte system, instead 
of being irrigated once a month in each space between tree rows, are 
irrigated in each alternate space at one time and in the other spaces 
two weeks later, one-half the water to which they are entitled for the 
month being used for each irrigation. With thirty-day intervals 
there are five or six complete irrigations, depending on the dryness of 
the irrigation season, which extends from April or May to October, 
inclusive. Canyon water is used to some extent through the winter, 
although with much less regularity than in the summer. The reason 
for such use is the cheapness of the water rather than the fact that 
the land needs the water. Canyon water is used sometimes to prevent 
the damaging effect of frost to citrus fruits, and when it is very urgent 
pumps are started for the same purpose. The heat given up by 
artesian or pumped water may prevent freezing, or the moisture re¬ 
sulting from the wetting of the soil may retard the thawing of the 
fruit. Young trees require much less water than full-grown trees. 
They are irrigated when first planted and should receive water at 
fifteen-day intervals during the first summer. Some growers apply 
the water to young trees along the row only, but it is better to moisten 
the whole space, as the roots then develop more rapidly. 

Orange trees have three new growths of foliage, with a check in the 
sap between them, one in the spring, one in the summer, and the third 
in the fall. The trees are dormant through the winter and bloom in 
March or April at the time of heavy rainfall. The Washington 
Navels, which constitute the bulk of the orange crop, begin to ripen 
in December and the picking and shipping continue until June. 
Seedlings and miscellaneous varieties do not begin to ripen quite so 
early, and the Late Valencias do not become sw T eet until summer and 
often many are not picked until the following October. It requires 
a full year to produce a crop of Navels, and a longer time for Va¬ 
lencias, so that with the latter there are two crops, one green and the 
other ripe, on the tree in the summer w T hen the trees must receive 

[Bull. 236] 


79 


moisture from irrigation. For this reason the Valencia trees require 
slightly more water than the Navels, and the preservation of the ripe 
fruit, as well as the production of the new crop, depends on their 
care. Either too much or too little water may be detrimental by 
causing the fruit to drop or by impairing its quality. Growers claim 
that critical periods with citrus trees are when there is a change from 
the cool, wet days to the warm days in the spring, when cold weather 
begins in the fall, and when changes in the flow of the sap occur. 
The trees should be in good condition to pass through these periods, 
and this is best done by keeping the moisture even. Citrus trees re¬ 
spond very readily to proper irrigation and the liberal use of fer¬ 
tilizer, and both are necessary for success. The grower must be will¬ 
ing to make a large outla}^ and practically force the trees to produce. 
Commercial fertilizer and barnyard manure both are necessary to 
supply all the elements of plant food, and the amount spent on these 
is $40 to $80 per acre per year. If the fertilizer is not applied in the 
rainy season it is disked and washed into the subsoil by an irrigation. 
Sometimes when reviving a neglected and run-down orchard $100 per 
acre is spent in a single year for fertilizer. Trees must be fumigated 
also to kill scale and the pruning must be systematic, but no orchard 
operation is more important than the irrigation, together with culti¬ 
vation and fertilization, which are so closely related to it. The change 
brought about in the condition of the trees by proper treatment for 
a few seasons is sometimes marvelous. 

Lemons require more w r ater and more attention than oranges. They 
are not always given more water, particularly if the orchard is under 
an irrigation system used principally for oranges. Lemon trees are 
bearing constantly. They bloom in all seasons, have fruit in all 
stages of growth at the same time, and are picked at intervals of sev¬ 
eral w r eeks the year round, according to size instead of color, the green 
lemons being cured afterwards. The largest number of blossoms, how¬ 
ever, come in the spring when the orange trees bloom, and conse¬ 
quently the most fruit is picked in winter, as it requires nearly a year 
for the fruit to mature. With such continuous bearing the treatment 
of the tree can not be neglected at any time, for if there is not suffi¬ 
cient moisture the fruit is lacking in acidity. Growers believe that 
the shape and smoothness of the fruit may be influenced also by the 
manner of using water and fertilizer. A lemon orchard should be 
irrigated just after the picking. 

DECIDUOUS FRUITS. 

The irrigation of deciduous fruits is much more irregular than 
that of citrus fruits, and there are several theories regarding the best 
practice. Most peach orchards are irrigated from one to three times 

[Bull. 236] 


80 


during the growing season, many growers claiming that one irriga¬ 
tion, about March, is sufficient in any of the soils in Pomona or on 
Chino rancho. Some are irrigated a little in the winter and others 
not at all. One 75-acre orchard east of Chino is plowed once in Jan¬ 
uary and again in March or April, after which it is thoroughly har¬ 
rowed. It is then well cultivated from time to time to hold the mois¬ 
ture supplied by the spring rains, which alone are depended upon to 
produce the crop. Moisture from the rains has been found to pene¬ 
trate the soil 8 or 10 feet. Peaches grown by these methods are small 
and are all used by local canneries. One orchardist growing peaches 
for shipment has his trees irrigated five times during the growing 
season, but no cover crop or fertilizer of any kind is used. The fruit 
is large and of excellent quality, but it is not certain that the results 
are due altogether to the quantity of water used, as much care was 
.used in selecting a variety adapted to the soil, and the pruning of 
the trees is done carefully. 

Apricots should not be irrigated near the time of ripening if the 
fruit is to be shipped. Some growers believe that the trees should 
have water early in the growing season; others that little or no irri¬ 
gation during the growing season is best. The latter irrigate the 
orchards well through the winter, plow and cultivate thoroughly dur¬ 
ing the growing season, and give one irrigation in the late summer 
after picking. The trees should first be pruned, after which the 
application of the water starts the buds for the next crop. 

ENGLISH W r ALNUTS. 

There are many views among walnut growers as to the manner, 
time, and frequency of applying water, and the amount that the 
trees should receive. Basin irrigation in the past was preferred for 
walnuts, it being held that when the soil was well worked up it 
allowed a better soaking than furrow irrigation, and the aim was to 
give orchards as much water as possible with a small number of 
irrigations. Many growers are practicing furrow irrigation at pres¬ 
ent. Some do not irrigate at all if the moisture from the winter 
rains penetrates the soil to a depth of 7 feet or more, believing that 
the trees are deeper rooted if not irrigated, and that if the roots 
are trained toward the surface by the use of water they are cut by the 
cultivator and the plow to the detriment of the tree. Such persons 
prefer to use no water and to cultivate continuously through the 
dry season. If the water is applied in deep furrows instead of in 
basins, it is probable that their objections to irrigating would be 
overcome. Others give a single irrigation in July, or some time after 
the rains cease, and try to put a large quantity of water into the soil. 
An attempt is made to retard the new crop by giving the trees no 

[Bull. 236] 


81 


water in the spring and keeping the soil cool with a cover crop, in 
the belief that there is less liability to blight if the blossom can be 
held back until after the damp season. Still others irrigate at an 
earlier date, with a second irrigation in the summer, and perhaps a 
third if the season is very dry. The trees are not irrigated near the 
time of harvesting the nuts, which is in September and October. 
Walnut orchards are cultivated thoroughly and are plowed once 
in the winter. As there are not a great many in this locality, they 
are not irrigated as systematically as at Whittier and in Orange 
County, where large areas are devoted to the industry. The acre¬ 
age, however, is increasing and there should be better practice in the 
future. 

IRRIGATION OF ALFALFA. 

There is no romance in the way alfalfa is irrigated near Pomona 
and Chino. The rancher from many sections of the West, who is 
accustomed to turning large heads of water onto broad fields, little 
caring if there is waste, thinks the spreading of water over 20, 40, 
and 80 acre alfalfa farms by hand-laid surface pipe is ridiculously 
painstaking. However, when it is considered from the economical 
viewpoint this method is greatly in advance of others. All the alfalfa 
is irrigated from wells. A few of these have a light artesian flow, 
but in most the water must be pumped from depths of 30 to 100 
feet. Two or three crops in a season would not warrant such ex¬ 
pense, but with six or seven crops there is an inducement for extreme 
measures in securing and taking care of the water. 

The system of irrigating alfalfa is to systematically carry the 
head of water to first one point and then another in the field by 
detachable iron pipe laid on the surface. It allows excellent control 
of the water and makes it possible to apply it at any point for as 
long a time as is desired. It also dispenses with ditches and borders 
in the field, so that the entire area is utilized for the crop. Plate V, 
figure 1, shows the irrigation of alfalfa with detachable surface pipe. 
The pipe can be laid to force the water onto slightly elevated por¬ 
tions of the field, but the land is, in fact, graded as carefully as for 
flooding with other methods. If the field were left uneven it would 
cause scalding of the crop and hardening of the soil in the low places. 
After plowing and grading, the field is irrigated to settle the soil 
to a permanent position, and then any unevenness can be smoothed 
before seeding. Seeding in the spring is preferred and the soil is 
first irrigated, unless already wet from rains. The soil is inoculated 
and nurse crops are not used. Thin spots in the stand are disked 
and reseeded. 

34575°—Bull. 236—12-6 



82 


USE OF CONCRETE PIPE AND STANDS FOR CONVEYING WATER. 

Concrete pipe lines are laid for conveying the water from the 
pumping plant to the fields. They are 10-incli lines, unless the well 
is more productive of water than the average, in which case 12-inch 
pipe is required. The head line is provided with stands about 100 
feet apart. They differ from the stands for an orchard by having 
only a single opening and that large enough to discharge the entire 
stream. A 12-incli stand is used on a 10-inch pipe line. There are 
two kinds of stands, the most satisfactory of which is illustrated in 
figure 7 and also in Plate V, figure 2. In this a 10-inch elbow of 
galvanized iron is firmly cemented in the top of the stand. When 


METHOD OF CONNECTING TO SURFACE PIPE METHOD OF CLOSING 



not in use the opening is closed by a wooden block held tightly against 
the end of the elbow by two nuts. In the other kind of stand the 
opening is made by inserting a short piece of pipe in one side of the 
stand, the top of which is capped with concrete. When it is necessary 
to have a large stand in the pipe line for a basin or turnout, it may 
be equipped so that it will serve as an ordinary stand also. Stands 
should be marked by posts so they can be avoided when mowing. 
The cost of a head line for 40 acres, with 1,300 feet of 10-inch pipe 
laid at 22 cents per foot, 12 stands at $1.75 each, and one basin at $5, 
is $312. Iron stands, which are more convenient to open and close, 
are made, but they are not yet in general use on account of their 
greater cost. 

[Bull. 236] 


























































83 


APPLICATION OF AVATER TO FIELDS. 

Both iron pipe and canvas hose have been used for distributing the 
water over the fields from the stands. The hose is cheaper, and at 
one time was used as much as the pipe, but with the best of care it 
rarely lasts more than two years, hence iron pipe is best. Saturated 
hose is heavy and disagreeable to handle. Hose is made of about 
12-ounce canvas and is often treated with a preparation which makes 
it nearly water-tight and more durable. Ordinary hose, if left wet 
on the ground, has its usefulness destroyed in a few days. Plain 
9-inch hose costs about 8 cents per foot, and the prepared hose about 
10 cents per foot. The flexibility of the hose adapts it for making 
bends. The general practice now is to use pipe altogether, except 
one piece of hose a few feet in length for making connection with 
the stand. It is slipped over the opening in the stand and tied or 
wired in place and the other end is merely placed inside the pipe. 
The hose is 1 inch larger in diameter than the pipe. It can not be 
used under a high pressure. The water is often forced through the 
pipe line by the pump, and there is generally a standpipe near the 



pumping plant in which the water is free to rise. This acts as a 
regulator and prevents sudden strain on the pump and pipe line. 
The head in the standpipe seldom exceeds 3 or 4 feet, provided the 
water is not forced up a grade. 

Detachable surface pipe is made of galvanized iron usually 24 
gauge. It is 8 inches in diameter and is made up in sections of several 
lengths, but the shorter lengths of 10 feet are the most durable, and 
are now preferred. The pipe is now made by special machinery in 
10-foot sections, each from a single sheet of metal, as shown in 
figure 8. Aside from the circumferential seam at one end where 
the taper begins this section has only a longitudinal seam, which 
is soldered but not riveted. The taper is 8 inches long and is . of 
heavier iron (about 22 gauge) for inserting in the end of another 
section. The pipe costs 22 cents per linear foot and 1,300 feet, which 
is sufficient to irrigate a square 40-acre tract from one head line, 
cost $286. The expense is warranted by the productiveness of the 
land and the permanency of the crops. Some pipe is not furnished 
with the reenforcing ring and the taper is formed by merely crimping 

[Bull. 236] 

























84 


the end, but this is a less durable kind. The cost is double the cost 
of hose, but it lasts for ten or fifteen years or even longer with proper 
handling. The principal source of damage is in the loading and 
unloading of the sections when hauling to or from the field. 

With a head of 60 miner’s inches one man can irrigate acres per 
day of ten hours. To irrigate a field the water is used from one 
stand for a strip equal in width to the distance between stands and 
with length from the head to the foot of the field. Since without 
reservoirs there must be an outlet for the water whenever the pump 
is in operation, it is best to have one stand temporarily open when 
the surface pipe is being connected to another. The best way to 
irrigate with surface pipe is to begin applying water at the upper 
end of the strip, and proceed toward the lower end by gradually 
adding sections of pipe. If the strip is narrow a single stringing of 
the pipe through the center is sufficient to wet the full width, but 
if the strip is wide more than one location of the line must be made. 
This is done by swinging the short piece of canvas hose at the stand 
to one side or the other in order that the pipe may be strung on 
either side of the center line. 

When care is used there need be no waste and no draining of sur¬ 
plus water to prevent scalding. If too much water is being applied, 
it will flow toward the lower side of the field and as the work ap¬ 
proaches the foot it is easy for the irrigator to make proper allowance 
for the surplus. When one side of the strip has been completed, the 
hose connection at the stand is swung to the other side of the strip 
for a new location of the surface pipe. The irrigator then begins 
at the upper end by carrying the pipe across to the new location 
section by section. After the entire strip has been irrigated by 
either one, two, or three locations of the surface pipe the connection 
is changed to the next stand for the irrigation of a new strip. The 
second stand is opened and the new connection made before the first 
stand is closed. The leakage at the joints of pipes is slight and the 
loss is not of consequence since it occurs on the land being watered. 

There are some moist lands on which alfalfa is grown with little 
or no irrigation, but the crops are light and the dry lands which com¬ 
prise the greater part of the region must be well irrigated. The 
water is applied as soon after each cutting, except the last, as the hay 
can be disposed of, and a second irrigation before the next crop is cut 
is not common. In wet years the first one or two crops are raised 
without irrigation. There are from five to seven cuttings of irri¬ 
gated alfalfa, the practice being to cut when the basal shoots start, 
regardless of the bloom. The first cutting comes in April or May, 
and the seventh is often made as late as November. It grows more 
slowly in the late fall, when the nights become cool, and the last crop 

[Bull. 236] 


85 


is light. The average yield is from 1 to 1J tons per acre for each 
crop. Nearly all of the alfalfa is disposed of on the ranches to 
fruit growers, who haul it away. A little is baled and shipped to 
Los Angeles. The price is influenced somewhat by the size of the 
barley crop. For several years it has been from $7 to $10 per ton, 
and it has been at the latter figure for the last three years. An im¬ 
proved ranch with pumping plant is valued at $300 to $600 per acre. 
The ranches contain from 10 to 80 acres. 

IRRIGATION OF OTHER CROPS. 

The winter and spring rains are ample usually for the growing of 
sugar beets, except in very dry seasons, when they are given a single 
irrigation. The factory at Chino receives 80,000 tons of beets per 
year, but most of these are from Santa Ana and other localities. The 
yield is given as 12 tons per acre. The price is in proportion to the 
percentage of sugar contained, being $5 per ton for beets containing 
15 per cent of sugar. Nearly all of the 3,000 acres of beets on Chino 
rancho are grown by the sugar company. The beet lands are low- 
lying moist lands south of Chino, with too much alkali for alfalfa. 
The company’s lands have been tiled to allow early planting. This 
also removes some of the salt from the soil. Drainage of these lower 
lands was not made necessary by the irrigation of higher lands, as 
they were moist before irrigation was begun. The method employed 
is to flood the fields by the use of a detachable surface pipe. 

Grapes require very little water, and the mistake of irrigating them 
too much is common. Vineyards in this locality are given one to 
three irrigations, depending upon the soil and the season. The 
grapes have not stood shipment to the eastern market well, and are 
used in making wine. Many thousands of acres of grapes are grown 
without irrigation at Cucamonga, 10 or 15 miles to the east. The 
soil is very sandy and retains the moisture supplied by the rainfall. 

The irrigation of berries, melons, vegetables, and miscellaneous 
fruits is very irregular. As gardening is begun in winter, the rains 
supply much of the moisture needed, and there often is little irriga¬ 
tion. Strawberries ripen from April to November, inclusive, and are 
irrigated quite frequently through the dry season. Water is applied 
in very deep furrows or ditches, so that it will reach the plant roots 
without wetting the tops of the ridges, which would cause the berries 
to decay. The olive requires very little moisture, and the trees will 
live without irrigation, although they require water to produce well. 
The splitting of figs is believed to be caused by late watering. Eu¬ 
calyptus trees require irrigation only when young. 

[Bull. 236] 


86 


DUTY OF WATER IN POMONA VALLEY. 

Although there is yet room in many cases for water to be used 
more economically, the duty is very high, even considering that the 
rainfall is greater than in most western localities. The principal 
reasons for the sparing use of water are its high cost, together with 
the dependence of the cost on the amount used and the independence 
of the irrigators. Pumping-plant owners can use water at their own 
pleasure, and where mutual water companies meet operative expenses 
by a water charge, members have an opportunity to save by being 
skipped in the rotation schedule. Data are available to show the duty 
for fruits from 1905 to 1909, inclusive, and for alfalfa for 1905 and 
1908. The depth of rainfall is much greater than the depth of 
irrigation, but the value of the rainfall in supplying moisture is not 
in proportion to the quantity, on account of its poor distribution. 
It has another value, however, in replenishing the gravel beds for 
pumping. Irrigation supplies the moisture in the summer when it is 
most needed. The rainfall for the calendar year represents the 
amount of moisture supplied naturally through a growing season 
more nearly than that for a meteorological year except in the case of 
deciduous fruits. The rainfall by months for the period 1905 to 
1908, inclusive, as shown by the records of the Pomona Land and 
Water Company, are as follows: 

Rainfall at Pomona, Cal., 1905-1909, inclusive. 


Month. 

1905. 

1906. 

1907. 

1908. 

1909. 

Month. 

1905. 

1906. 

1907. 

1908. 

1909. 


Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 


Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches 

January . 

3.36 

4.81 

8.66 

6.84 

9.94 

August.. 

. 00 

00 

00 

03 

16 

February. 

8.05 

2.50 

3.53 

3.89 

5.65 

September.... 

.02 

.07 

.00 

1.88 

.04 

March. 

8. 50 

9.61 

5. 74 

.83 

3. 44 

October. 

12 

00 

2 63 

Qfi 

43 

April. 

1.35 

1.58 

.52 

.91 

.07 

November.. 

2. 71 

1.62 

.02 

• CXJ 

.27 

2. 01 

May. 

2. 34 

1.31 

.05 

.34 

.03 

December. 

.64 

8. 33 

1.07 

1.64 

9.63 

June.. 

.00 

.03 

. 41 

.00 

17 


July . 

.00 

..03 

.00 

.00 

.36 

Total.... 

27.09 

29.89 

22.63 

17. 51 

31.93 


The above totals reduced to feet are 2.26 for 1905, 2.49 for 1906, 
1.89 for 1907, 1.46 for 1908, and 2.66 for 1909. 


DUTY FOR CITRUS FRUITS. 

For 1905 certain tracts representing all the different kinds of soils 
have been selected where the total number of hours that water was 
applied during the season was known and where careful measure¬ 
ments had been made of the water used. No tracts were selected 
where canyon water was used, because the variation in the amount 
of canyon water would make results uncertain. 

[Bull. 236] 





































87 


Duty of water for citrus fruits at Pomona, Cal., 1905. 


1. 

2 . 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6 . 

7. 

8 . 
9. 

10. 

11 . 

12. 


Number of tract. 


Average. 


Crop. 

Acres. 

Irri¬ 

ga¬ 

tions. 

Hours 

pumped. 

Rate 

of 

pump¬ 

ing. 

Depth 

applied 

by 

pump¬ 

ing. 

Total, 

includ¬ 

ing 

rainfall. 





Miner's 







inches. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Young oranges. 

70.00 

4 

440 

16 

0.2 

2.5 


10. 00 

7 

1,560 

2 

.6 

2.9 

Oranges. 

30.00 

5 

550 

23 

.7 

3.0 


36. 50 

5 

507 

16 

.4 

2.7 


60.00 

5 

1,100 

28 

.9 

3.2 


20.00 

5 

500 

24 

1.0 

3.3 


24. 75 

2 

180 

15 

.2 

2.5 


8. 00 

6 

365 

7 

.5 

2.8 


5. 66 

5 

300 

16 

1.5 

3.8 


4. 25 

5 

75 

43 

1.3 

3.6 

Oranges and lemons... 

35. 00 

5 

593 

29 

.8 

3.1 

Lemons. 

15. 00 

6 

720 

12 

1.0 

3.3 






8 

3.1 








Tracts 1 and 2, being in young trees, did not require as much water 
as full-grown trees. Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 12 are in loose, gravelly loam 
near the foothills, and No. 11 is in similar soil in San Dimas Wash. 
Tract No. 10 is in tight soil near Spadra and the others are in the 
medium sandy loams near Pomona and Lordsburg. It does not ap¬ 
pear that the unequal amounts of water applied to these tracts has 
been due to the different requirements of soils, but rather to the 
amount of water available. 

For the seasons 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1909 the general duty for 
citrus fruit is represented by the amounts used under the systems of 
the Del Monte Irrigation Company and the Palomares Irrigation 
Company. All of the land under the Del Monte system and three- 
fourths of the land under the Palomares system is in citrus fruit. 
The results are based on the total number of hours that one or more 
heads of water are delivered. The average aggregate heads, in 
miner’s inches, delivered by the Del Monte Irrigation Company were 
increased during 1907 by a good supply of flowing water. An 
attempt is made to maintain constant heads, but they are usually 
slightly less than they are intended to be. This in a measure counter¬ 
acts the error that would occur from making no deduction in the total 
acreage served by the companies for buildings and roads. 


Duty of water, Del Monte Irrigation Company system, Pomona, Cal., 1906-1909. 


Year. 

Acres. 

Number 
of rota¬ 
tions. 

Hours in 
schedule. 

Size of 
stream. 

Depth 

applied. 

Total, 

including 

rainfall. 

1906. 

2,000 

2,000 

7 

636 

Miner's 

inches. 

200 

Feet. 

0.73 

Feet. 

3.22 

1907. 

7 

636 

300 

1.10 

2.98 

1908 . 

2,000 

2,000 

7 

636 

200 

.73 

2.19 

1QOO .. 

7 

636 

200 

.73 

3.39 






A vprn pp. 






.82 

2.94 







[Bull. 236] 












































































88 


Duty of water, Palomares Irrigation Company system, Pomona Cal., 1906-1909. 


Year. 

Acres. 

Number 
of rota¬ 
tions. 

Hours in 
schedule. 

Size of 
stream. 

Depth 

applied. 

Total, 

including 

rainfall. 





Miner's 







inches. 

Foot 

Feet. 

190C. 

000 

G 

720 

60 

0.71 

3.20 

1907. 

GOO 

7 

720 

60 

.83 

2.71 

1908. 

600 

7 

720 

60 

.83 

2.29 

1909. 

600 

7 

720 

GO 

.83 

3.49 

Average. 





.80 

2.92 









The use of 1 miner’s inch on 8 acres would give the land a depth 
of three-twentieths of a foot per month or about 1 foot for the irri¬ 
gating season, but the foregoing tables show that only about four- 
fifths of a foot of water is applied annually by irrigation to citrus 
orchards. It will be noted that the average duty for the four years 
under the two systems is nearly the same as the average for the 
twelve tracts for 1905. If the irrigation by canyon water were in¬ 
cluded, the general duty would be slightly raised by the greater use 
of water through the winter. The total depth applied, including 
the rainfall, is 2.93 feet, but allowance should be made for the high 
rainfall of this period. The average of the five years for which the 
duty is given is 50 per cent greater than the average for twenty-five 
years and is double the rainfall of some former dry years. In dry 
seasons more water is pumped, but not enough more to bring the 
total quantity applied to the land up to that shown. The quantity 
of well water used does not increase in a period of dry years as much 
as would be expected, for artesian wells cease to flow and good heads 
of pumped water are harder to get. The distribution of the rainfall 
is much the same for wet and dry years. With the average rainfall 
of about 1J feet the total depth applied would probably be less than 
2^ feet. Comparison of the duty with that of the interior districts 
shows it to be higher. At Riverside the depth of irrigation is from 
2 to 2J feet, and the average rainfall brings the total up to about 3f 
feet. There are several reasons for this difference: Riverside has 
canal water, consequently there is much more winter irrigation; 
there are fewer young trees there; the soils there are heavier; and 
loss by evaporation is probably greater. On the other hand, there 
is probably a greater loss at Pomona by moisture going below the 
roots of the trees. 

DUTY FOR DECIDUOUS FRUIT AND DIVERSIFIED CROPS. 

The water used under the Irrigation Company of Pomona gives 
some idea of the duty on deciduous orchards and diversified crops 
which occupy about one-half of the acreage, the other half being in 

[Bull. 236] 





















89 


citrus fruit. The company does not deliver by rotation. The quan¬ 
tity of water used in 1906 and 1907 is found from the total number 
of hours and the average size of stream pumped. In 1908 and 1909 
the company had some flowing water in addition to that pumped, so 
that results can not be based on the number of hours pumped, but 
the total quantity used is shown by the receipts from the charges for 
water at 50 cents per hour for 60 miner’s inches through the irrigat¬ 
ing season and a small amount of winter water at one-half charge, 
making the average for the twelve months about 40 cents. 


Duty of ivater', Irrigation Company of Pomona system, Pomona, Cal., 

1906-1909. 


Year. 

Acres. 

Hours 

pumped. 

Rate of 
pump¬ 
ing. 

Receipts 
from water 
runs at 40 
cents per 
60 hour- 
inches. 

Hour- 

inches.® 

Depth 

applied. 

Total, in¬ 
cluding 
rainfall. 

1906. 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500 

2,489 

2,589 

Miner’s 

inches. 

234 

256 



Foot. 

0.39 
.44 
.51 
.48 

Feet. 

2.88 

2.32 

1.97 

3.14 

1907. 



1908. 

$5,144.20 
4,850.00 

771,630 

727,500 

1909. 



Average. 






| 

.45 

2.58 




i 1 


a 1 miner’s inch per hour. 


The average duty for the four years is only 0.45 foot, showing by 
comparison with the duty for citrus fruits that much less water is 
used. 

duty for alfalfa. 

The duty for alfalfa is shown by the depth of water used on seven 
tracts in 1905 and on six tracts in 1908 in various locations in south¬ 
ern Pomona and on Chino rancho. In all of these cases the total 
number of hours pumped were ascertained and measurements were 
made of the water. 


Duty of icater for alfalfa at Pomona and Chino, Cal., 1905. 


No. of tract. 

Acres. 

Irriga¬ 

tions. 

Hours 

pumped. 

Rate of 
pump¬ 
ing. 

Depth 

applied 

by 

pump¬ 

ing. 

Total, in¬ 
cluding 
rainfall. 


22.5 

4 

1,080 

Miner’s 

inches. 

44 

Feet. 

3.6 

Feet. 

5.9 


58.5 

4 

1,694 

71 

3.4 

5.7 


100.0 

3 

1,440 

52 

1.3 

3.6 


20.0 

3 

500 

49 

2.1 

4. 4 


10.0 

3 

300 

49 

2.5 

4.8 


28.0 

3 

470 

68 

1.9 

4.1 


48.0 

3 

847 

49 

1.4 

3.7 







2.3 

4.6 










[Uull. 236] 

























































90 


Duty of icater for alfalfa at Pomona and Chino, Cal., 1908. 


No. of tract. 

Acres. 

Irriga¬ 

tions. 

Hours 

pumped. 

Rate of 
pump¬ 
ing. 

Depth 

applied 

by 

pump¬ 

ing. 

Total, in¬ 
cluding 
rainfall. 

1. 

70 

4 

1,204 

800 

Miner’s 

inches. 

62 

Feet. 

1.8 

Feet. 

3.3 

2. 

40 

5 

68 

2.2 

3.7 

3. 

10 

4 

480 

49 

3.6 

5.1 

4. 

15 

4 

640 

49 

3.2 

4. 7 

5. 

40 

5 

800 

68 

2.2 

3.7 

6_*_ 

43 

3 

600 

55 

1.3 

2.8 





Average. 





2.4 

3.9 








The tables show that 2.3 feet was applied in 1905 and 2.4 feet in 
1908. The quantity pumped in 1905 is just equal the rainfall for 
the entire calendar year. In 1908 there was less rain and the quantity 
of water pumped was about double the rainfall. The extent of 
pumping for alfalfa is affected more by the rainfall than it is for 
fruits. With a rainfall of only 1 foot there would be much more 
pumping, and the total depth of water received by the land in 12 
months would not fall below 4 feet. All the tracts selected, with one 
exception, were irrigated from pumping plants of their owners. 
Where the water is purchased there are, as a rule, fewer irrigations, 
but the production on the land is less. 

COST OF IRRIGATING AND RAISING DIFFERENT CROPS. 

CITRUS FRUITS. 

The cost of irrigating citrus fruits includes the cost of the water 
and of its application to the orchard. The cost of the water is repre¬ 
sented by the cost of pumping, where pumping is necessary, or the 
interest on the amount invested in water rights where canyon water 
is used, in addition to the cost of delivery. 

The value of a miner’s inch of canyon water varies from $1,500 
to as high as $2,500 in some localities. The value of pumped water 
is not less than $1,000 per miner’s inch. A continuous flow of 1 
miner’s inch is used to irrigate on an average about 8 acres, thus 
making the minimum investment per acre $125, and the interest at 
6 per cent thereon $7.50 per year. 

The cost of pumping, as ascertained from the water charges and 
assessments of the several companies in this section, averages about 
2J cents per miner’s inch per hour, or $15 per acre-foot. The cost 
of pumping for citrus fruits may be said to average $12 per acre, 
allowing a duty of eight-tenths of an acre-foot per acre. 

[Bull. 236] 




























91 


The methods used by the various companies for securing funds 
for operation vary somewhat. The Del Monte Irrigation Company 
is representative of those which secure all funds by assessments on 
the stock. The assessments in the company aggregate 75 cents per 
share or $9.75 per acre, there being 13 shares held per acre. This, 
together with the interest on the investment in water rights, makes 
the total cost of water at the point of delivery $17.25 per acre per 
annum. The company, however, has been paying $5,000 of in¬ 
debtedness annually. This indebtedness has now been cleared and 
the assessments may be reduced a fourth or a third. 

Water is very cheap in the Palomares Irrigation Company. This 
company is now out of debt, and it has been fortunate in not having 
to bore more wells or spend much money on new installation. 

The Irrigation Company of Pomona is not representative. Con¬ 
ditions previously referred to have depreciated the value of its water 
rights and the pumping with a low lift of a large number of wells 
in one cienaga makes the cost unusually low. The interest on ail 
acre water right valued at $26 is only $1.56, the charge for water made 
by the company is five-sixths of a cent per miner’s inch per hour, and 
the annual assessments average $4 per acre. 

The San Dimas Irrigation Company charges 2 cents per miner’s 
inch per hour to members and 3 cents to nonmembers. Its water 
rights are valued at $100 per acre. The charges for water will meet 
all ordinary expenses. 

Out of fourteen small companies for which the charges were 
learned, eight charge 2 cents per miner’s inch per hour, three charge 
li cents, and the others three-fourths of a cent, 1J, 3J, and 5 cents, 
respectively. Some of these companies also deliver to nonmembers 
at rates 25 to 50 per cent higher than the charge to members, while 
others do not deliver to nonmembers at all. In the small companies, 
as in the case of the San Dimas Irrigation Company, the charges 
for water meet all expenses, except when there is some unusually 
large expense, such as the installation of new machinery, for which 
purpose the stock is assessed, and most of the companies get along 
without assessments for five or six years. The charge made to mem¬ 
bers represents more nearly the ordinary running expenses, for it is 
intended that there be a profit in the sale of water to nonmembers. 
In the Citrus Water Company the charge produced a surplus, and a 
dividend was declared. A fair average for the annual cost of de¬ 
livering to irrigators from the pumping plant is $18 per acre, and 
when a cover crop is irrigated in the winter this may be raised to $22. 

Water pumped at private plants often is sold, and the charges vary 
from 2 \ to 5 cents per miner’s inch per hour. Such plants are con¬ 
structed primarily for the use of their owners, who are often not de- 
[Bull. 236] 


92 


sirous of selling water. If they do sell, there must be a profit to them 
to aid in replacing the plant when the machinery is worn out. The 
depreciation, together with taxes and interest, for pumping plants is 
about 20 per cent per year, or $600 on an investment of $3,000. The 
cost of pumping at private plants varies more than at company plants, 
because often there is no charge for attendance. The cost of at¬ 
tendance at small plants is about $3 per day of twelve hours and 
$3.50 per day of twenty-four hours. The tests of 1905 show that the 
cost of pumping for fruit at private plants of 10 to 100 horsepower, 
with lifts of 100 to 300 feet, varied from $10 to $90 per acre-foot. 

The application of water to orchards requires, as stated before, 
an expenditure of $193 for a head line for a 10-acre orchard., and the 
interest on this, which, at 6 per cent, amounts to $1.16 per acre per 
annum. An irrigator is paid about 25 cents per hour when hired, 
and his services for seven irrigations of twelve hours each for 10 
acres costs $2.10 per acre. Where a cover crop is grown there are 
not less than nine irrigations and the cost is $2.70 per acre. This 
makes the total cost of obtaining and applying the water about $24 
per acre, or as much as the cost of a water right in some sections 
of the West. 

These figures, however, have little meaning unless considered in 
relation to the total cost of production of citrus fruits and the net 
return to the grower. The number of boxes of fruit produced per 
acre varies through a wide range and depends, among other things, 
on the location, the age of the trees., the care of the orchard, the 
variety of the fruit, and the season. Occasionally a crop of 500 
boxes of oranges per acre is obtained by heavy fertilization, but even 
on well-managed groves 300 boxes per acre is an exceptional average 
for several years. It is only in late years that orchardists have 
learned how to grow larger and better crops of lemons. In general, 
trees bear more heavily near the coast than in the interior, but are 
more troubled with scale and must be fumigated more frequently. 

The following table gives the quantity of fruit shipped and the 
returns to the growers for the total bearing acreage in oranges under 
the Pomona Fruit Growers’ Exchange, Claremont Citrus Associa¬ 
tion, College Heights Orange Association, Indian Hill Citrus Asso¬ 
ciation, La Verne Orange Growers’ Association, and San Dimas 
Orange Growers’ Association for the past five seasons. The general 
manager of the California Fruit Growers’ Exchange has stated that 
the territory represented by these associations is the heaviest produc¬ 
ing of all the larger fruit districts of the State. 

[Bull. 236] 


93 


Number of boxes of oranges produced per acre, price per box, and gross return 

to growers, 1906-7 to 1910-11, inclusive. 


Season. 

Acreage 
in asso¬ 
ciations. 

Total 

shipments. 

Total 

amount paid 
growers in 
cash and 
picking. 

Average 

yield 

per 

acre. 

Average 
price 
per box. 

Average 
gross 
return 
per acre. 

1906-7 . 

Acres. 
5,037 
5,322 
5,413 
5,837 
6,336 

Boxes. 
625,183 
648,830 
1,037,082 
990,364 
1,483,664 

$835,913.06 
849,556.76 
1,070,590.80 
1,204,449.88 
1,984,289. 62 

Boxes. 

124 

$1.34 

1.31 

$165.95 
159.63 

1907-8 . 

122 

1908-9 . 

192 

1.03 

196.78 

1909-10 . 

170 

1.22 

206. 35 

1910-11.. 

234 

1.34 

313.18 





27,945 

4, 785,123 

5,944,800.12 

171 

1.24 

212.73 


The selling price of citrus fruits varies greatly. The cost of mar¬ 
keting is deducted from the gross receipts before the grower is paid 
for his fruit, as is also the cost of picking, where the fruit is picked 
by the association. The cost of marketing includes packing at 39 
cents per box for oranges and 65 cents per box for lemons, freight at 
about 83 cents per box for oranges and about 97 cents per box for 
lemons, and a refrigeration charge of 15 to 25 cents per box for 
about one-half the oranges and a small per cent of the lemons. The 
prices for single shipments of oranges vary more than those given 
in the table above. The variation in the price of lemons is as great 
as that for oranges. 

The average crops include some neglected orchards and some that 
are not in full bearing, and although helpful in showing the status 
of the industry, they do not show what can be done with an orchard 
with skillful handling or perhaps even with fair treatment. For the 
purpose of illustration the production will be taken as 250 boxes per 
acre, which, at an average price of $1.25 per box, gives $312.50 per 
acre as the grower’s gross receipts. The cost of irrigation, exclusive 
of interest on the investment in water right or pumping plant, is 
about $15 per acre. Orchards are now fertilized more than ever 
before, and the cost of fertilization often reaches $100 per acre. Some 
orchardists use little fertilizer, but as a rule their profits are small. 
On the other hand, the useful age of the orange tree has not been 
determined and experience may teach that the forcing of the trees 
to great extreme is unwise. The practice on some orchards is to use 
10 tons of stable manure per acre and 10 pounds of commercial fer¬ 
tilizer per tree. In most localities trees must be fumigated at inter¬ 
vals of two or three years at a cost of $15 to $30 per acre for oranges, 
depending on the size and condition of the trees, and more for 
lemons. Pruning costs $4 to $10 per acre for oranges and twice as 
much for lemons. Picking and hauling cost 10 cents per box for 
oranges and 30 cents for lemons. The following table represents the 
cost of raising, picking, and hauling a crop of oranges: 

[Bui. 236] 


























94 


Cost of raising, picking, and hauling an orange crop of 250 boxes per acre. 


Irrigation__$15 

Cultivation_ 20 

Fertilizer___ 60 

Pruning_ 8 

Fumigation_ 10 

Taxes_ 10 

Picking and hauling_ 25 

Total_148 


This leaves $164.50 to cover depreciation and the grower’s profit 
and interest on the investment in land, water right, packing-house 
stock, etc. This is 11 per cent on a valuation of $1,500 per acre, or 8 
per cent on a valuation of $2^000 per acre. Some orange groves have 
sold for $4,000 per acre, and lemon groves are to be found in the 
most favored localities valued at a higher figure. 

Stories are current of fabulous profits from orange growing. A 
grove does occasionally return a large sum for a single year, but these 
are exceptions, and the publicity given such has left a wrong impres¬ 
sion with many unfamiliar with the industry. The general condition 
of the districts as regards homes and mode of living is not always a 
true index to the profits of the grooves, for much wealth has been 
brought from other sections by attractions of the country other than 
the profits in fruit growing, but there is a fair profit even on the large 
investment, and the high cost of irrigation is fully warranted. 

ALFALFA. 

The cost of irrigation is a much larger part of the total cost of pro¬ 
duction for alfalfa than for fruit. Water seldom is measured care¬ 
fully when sold for alfalfa, and the customary charge for heads of 
approximately 60 miner’s inches from private plants is 85 cents per 
hour, or about 1^ cents per miner’s inch per hour. At this rate an 
acre-foot costs $8, and with a duty of 2.4 acre-feet per acre the cost 
of water delivered is $19.20 per acre. 

The tests made in 1905 show the cost of pumping for alfalfa to 
vary from $5 to $25 per acre-foot for plants of 10 to 30 horsepower, 
and with lifts of 0 to 100 feet, the majority being 30 to 60 feet. A 
representative plant has a 12-incli well 400 feet deep, a 25-horsepower 
gasoline engine, and a No. 5 centrifugal pump, and cost $3,000. The 
total lift is 50 feet, of which 10 feet is suction, and 60 miner’s inches, 
or 540 gallons, per minute are pumped. It is necessary to run the 
plant 640 hours to irrigate 40 acres four times. The cost of operation 
may be summarized as follows: 

Fuel, 3 gallons No. 2 grade engine distillate per hour, at 8 


cents per gallon-$ 153 . 60 

Attendance, part of the time of one man, 5 cents per hour_ 32. 00 

Repairs (estimated)_ 30.00 

Interest, 6 per cent first cost_ 180. 00 

Taxes, 1 per cent first cost_ 30. 00 

Depreciation, 13 per cent first: cost_ 390. 00 


Total- 815. 60 

[Bui. 23G] 

















95 


The total cost is thus $1.27 per hour—a little over 2 cents per hour 
for each miner’s inch of water pumped, or $12.85 per acre-foot. 

By this it would appear that money is lost in selling a head of GO 
miner’s inches for 85 cents per hour, but it must be remembered that 
the interest and taxes are the same whether the plant is run or not 
end these have been figured as $210. A little less than half of the 
depreciation and the repairs also should be charged for a plant run 
equally as much for selling water as for irrigating the owner’s land. 
The depreciation of the building, moreover, is not confined to the 
time of running. The profit, however, is small at such a rate. 

For a 40-acre tract the investment in a cement head line 1,300 feet 
long is $312 and the same length of detachable surface pipe $286. 
At 6 per cent the interest is 90 cents per acre. A man’s time for 
irrigating is worth 25 cents per hour, and it requires 16 days of 10 
hours each to irrigate the tract once. At an average of four irriga¬ 
tions his wages would amount to $4 per acre for the season. This, 
with water delivered at a cost of $12.85 per acre-foot and the use of 
2J acre-feet per acre, brings the total cost of irrigation up to $35. 

The onty other item of any consequence, aside from interest and 
taxes, on the land entering into the cost of production of alfalfa is 
the cutting and raking of the hay, and this costs about $1 per acre for 
each crop. Alfalfa is better if reseeded occasionally, but if well 
cared for this is not required for several years. There is no expense 
for marketing much of the hay, as the fruit growers pay $9 a ton for 
it in the field and haul it away. Some is baled, at a cost of $2 per 
ton, and shipped to Los Angeles. There is a gross return of $54 to 
$108 per acre, about one-half of which is profit, with a production of 
G to 9 tons per acre. The percentage of profit on the investment is 
as high as that for orange land. 

FUTURE USE OF WATER. 

NECESSITY FOR ECONOMY IN ITS USE. 

The high cost of water for fruit and alfalfa and the close approach 
of the quantity used to the limit of the supply make it desirable that 
all means be used to make what there is go as far as possible. 

Probably there are certain locations in this district w T here further 
development would not be to the detriment of the present acreage, 
but in general any material increase in the acreage requiring the 
boring of new wells must be done at the expense of existing wells 
and tunnels. There has been a partial recovery from the depleted 
basins of the dry period of several years ago, but a study of the com¬ 
plete record of the rainfall and of the history of development can 
lead only to the belief that this conforms to the change from a dry to 
a wet period and that the limit will be reached soon. It still re- 

[Bull. 236] 


96 


mains to be seen whether the wells will flow as strongly as they once 
did and whether the present rise in the water will extend to all parts 
of the district before another period of drought. It must be kept in 
mind constantly that the minimum rather than the average amount 
governs the possibilities for irrigating. There is reason to believe, 
however, that with judicious use of water dry periods can be passed 
through with no greater pumping lifts than those of the past. It 
can not be said just what the maximum depth is from which it would 
pay to lift water. Years ago the highest lifts of the present time. 
400 feet for fruit and 100 feet for alfalfa, were unthought of. 

It is impossible to make a very helpful comparison between the 
influx and the output of the subterranean reservoirs when neither 
can be ascertained accurately. Messrs. Jones and Olmstead, in their 
report to the city of Pomona, had to consider only the region from 
Pomona to San Antonio Canyon, and while diversions are made in 
this locality for Ontario and Chino, water pumped near Chino was 
not taken into account. They show that in the region investigated 
by them a steady draft of 1,600 miner’s inches is being made on the 
watershed of San Antonio Creek and, further, that 40 per cent of the 
average precipitation of 27 inches over the watershed must be taken 
up by the gravels for 1,600 miner’s inches to be stored naturally. 
Their conclusions are given in the following words: 

We believe that the existing relation of supply and delivery can be main¬ 
tained if no further extensive extraction of water from the gravels is made, 
and that in even ordinary dry years this yield can be made permanent. 

It is more difficult to consider properly all of the region in which a 
draft is made on waters having their source in the San Antonio 
watershed. Provided 1,600 miner’s inches is taken up by the gravels, 
the supply from the mountains, including the average surface dis¬ 
charge of 740 miner’s inches, is only 2,340 miner’s inches. The total 
irrigated area about Pomona, Claremont, Uplands, Ontario, and 
Chino is approximately 20,000 acres. If water were used on this 
area at the rate of 1 miner’s inch for each 8 acres, the basis of the 
average water right, 2,500 miner’s inches would be required, or if 
the average depth of 1J feet, which has been ascertained as the 
amount actually applied to fruit and alfalfa, 2,100 miner’s inches 
would be required. A small part of the water used on the 6,000 acres 
at Ontario and Uplands must come from the Cucamonga watershed, 
and it is also probable that some of the water pumped at Chino origi¬ 
nates in other than the San Antonio watershed, and, although doubt¬ 
ful, still another part may be seepage from higher irrigated lands. 
It is reasonable, however, that 1,800 or 2,000 miner’s inches is drawn 
from San Antonio watershed, and it is not probable that water is 
being used in excess of the rate at which it is furnished by the creek. 

[Bull. 236] 


97 


STORAGE AND PREVENTION OF LOSS. 

There is no opportunity to impound the winter floods in San An¬ 
tonio Canyon in the ordinary way. It appears to the casual observer 
that a dam can be thrown across the canyon for a storage reservoir, 
but there are no suitable sites, and if there were it is a question 
whether or not the great mass of debris, largely bowlders, brought 
down by the floods could be handled. The fall in the creek above 
supposed dam sites is deceiving and is so great that no basin of suffi¬ 
cient capacity could be made at reasonable expense. The site known 
as Browns Flat is situated in the mountains west of the canyon. In 
order to utilize this site the water would have to be piped both in and 
out, and it has not been found promising enough to survey. The 
even slopes of the valley below the canyon are devoid of basins or 
depressions that might lend themselves to improvement for storage 
purposes such as it has been the fortune of Colorado and other States 
to have. Such natural features, if they had existed, would have been 
utilized long ago. It has been necessary to resort to other means for 
holding the flood waters in reserve. 

The only practical kind of storage for San Antonio Creek, and a 
very efficient one, is the storage of the floods in the gravels below the 
canyon (PL II, fig. 1), to be drawn out several months later by 
the wells and tunnels farther down. Very effective work of this 
nature has been done for twelve winters by the Consolidated Water 
Company and the Mountain View Water Company, with some assis¬ 
tance on occasions from the Del Monte Irrigation Company. The 
method has been to divert the flood waters, which otherwise would 
run so far down the wash that they would be of no benefit to the wells 
in the orchard region, or which possibly would continue down the 
wash all the way to the sea and be of no service either to the orchard 
or alfalfa regions. It is a question if serviceable permanent diversion 
works that would keep the water under control can be made, for 
they would be in danger of destruction by the floods and the shifting 
channels in the gravels, and care must be used to avoid permanently 
changing the course of the water to channels where damage would be 
done to the settlements below. Temporary diversions into ditches 
leading away from the wash have been made by the use of sandbags 
and other material, and in the more recent work large quantities of 
blasting powder were used to tear up the channel. The water thus 
diverted is carried to the south and west and spread over the gravels, 
where it will be caught by the buried dike, which is believed to carry 
the water southwestward to San Jose Hills through a belt in which 
the tunnel and wells of the Consolidated Water Company, as well 
as other tunnels and many other wells, are located. The cost of this 
work has been the pay of two men employed. 

34575°—Bull. 236—12-7 


98 


Diversions made in March have the effect of increasing the flow of 
the Consolidated Tunnel the following August, and of the wells in 
Martin Cienaga in September. Only a small part of the w T ater in 
the highest floods has been saved by this means. When the creek is 
low Ontario gets most of the water, and the San Antonio Water Com¬ 
pany carries some flood water eastward through a pipe line to the 
west channel of Cucamonga Wash. Litigation is pending between 
the Consolidated Water Company and the Mountain View Water 
Company of Ontario over the right to spread the flood waters north¬ 
east of Indian Hill, where the tunnels of these companies are located, 
and the court has issued a temporary order for the joint spreading 
of the water by the two parties concerned, and work was done in 
conformity with such orders during the last two seasons. 

Similar methods of storage have been practiced at the mouth of the 
canyon of Santa Ana River by the water companies of Riverside, 
San Bernardino, and Orange Counties, and at their request the Gov¬ 
ernment has withdrawn from entry some of the wash lands, in order 
that their operations may not be interfered with by encroaching 
homesteaders, the position being taken that the benefits from the use 
of the gravels for storage to the large area of already highly devel¬ 
oped land outweighs the opportunity for settlement of a small area 
of rough wash land. 

There is need of more concerted action at Pomona in the storage 
of the flood waters and for all other measures for the benefit of the 
valley as a whole. Water absorbed by the gravels is for the benefit 
of most of the wells in the community, and if the expense was shared 
by all much more extensive work in this direction could be under¬ 
taken. The diversified interests at Pomona are more closely brought 
together for the welfare of the valley by the recent organization of 
an association the membership of which is on the basis of the quan¬ 
tity of water claimed or used. A total of about 1,800 miner’s inches 
is represented. One purpose of the association is to bring about 
community storage of the flood waters, and, in 1909 and 1910, when 
the discharge of the creek was more than was diverted by Ontario 
and by the Consolidated and Mountain View water companies in 
their joint work, the association diverted and spread water near the 
mouth of the canyon. The association also purchased some of the 
wash land, on which water may be spread in the future. There are 
other ways in which such an organization can promote the welfare 
of the community, as by encouraging a better use of water and dis¬ 
couraging any unwarranted increase in the acreage, as there are many 
orchards in this section under five years of age which will require 
more water when they are older. The rise in the wells in the past 
four or five years should not lead to overconfidence. 

Water flowing unused from an artesian well is such obvious waste 
that there has been full recognition of the importance of preventive 

[Bull. 236] 


99 


measures by the passage of a State law requiring the capping of 
artesian wells when the water is not needed. This law should be 
obeyed in spirit, even if it is not always possible to obey it to the 
letter. It is difficult to close some wells, for if the top is sealed the 
water finds its way to the surface along the outside of the casing, and 
if allowed to continue damages the well. Scientific work has demon¬ 
strated that there are few, if any, wells that can not be closed at rea¬ 
sonable expense by using cement under pressure around the casing. 
Fifteen wells near Chino are being closed, at a cost of $100 each, and 
contractors agree to close any well for $200. Most Avells, however, 
can be closed with little trouble. The exigencies of this case of waste 
are met at once by legislative act, but of vastly greater importance 
than the closing of the wells is the proper use of water, to be brought 
about only by an educational campaign of long duration. 

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES. 

After all measures for conservation have been taken, further exten¬ 
sions in the area irrigated in the coast region of southern California 
by water secured south of the Sierra Madre divide must be limited 
to a comparatively small percentage of the present area. The city of 
Los Angeles, realizing the need of more water in order that its rapid 
growth might continue unhampered, is spending $23,000,000 to bring 
water a distance of 240 miles from Owens River. It involved the buy¬ 
ing out of certain interests that already had made use of some of this 
water, so that it might be brought where it would be given a higher 
value. In this case a great city is spurred by municipal pride, if not 
by actual necessity, to make the enormous outlay. Another great 
undertaking of much significance where the cost is to be repaid only 
by the commercial value of the water for irrigation and power, is the 
construction of the Arrowhead Reservoir in San Bernardino Moun¬ 
tains at a cost of millions of dollars. One of the largest dams ever 
constructed is being built across the channel of a stream which flows 
naturally to Mohave Desert, where a part of the water has been lost 
in the sands. 

But there must be an end to such works, and the extreme measures 
taken emphasize the fact .of the scarcity of water to be had in large 
quantities. About 250,000 acres are now irrigated in the coast region 
of southern California. Work now progressing and other possible 
developments may add another 150,000, but finally the only possible 
further increase must come from a more economical use of the water 
available. Little improvement can be made over the best systems now 
in use in the transmission of the water from its source to its point 
of use. The greatest opportunity for saving is in a more economical 
application of the water to the land and, moreover, whatever may 
be saved is as useful in the development of additional territory as the 
same amount of water from new sources, and it may be cheaper. 

[Bull. 23C] 


o 
















































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